When I think about being pure, two things quickly come to mind - personal and pious. This image held true among my guys from 2 Deep as well as we continued our study from James. They used words like - untainted, innocence to evil, totally good, untampered. The different images from our daily world that we associate with purity were intriguing, ranging from water to children to even white women. Honestly, we shared that we usually think about purity solely on a sexual level.

So it was quite a radical shake-up to study James 1, ending in verse 27 - “Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to care for orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world.” As we allowed our preconceptions of purity to be shaped by this passage, we were opened up to new depth to our view of purity. Those that typically care for the outcasts and the vulnerable, are called advocates, community activists, counselors, adoptive parents, defender, etc.

Not only is this view of purity much broader than the initial images that filled our minds, but it is clearly not very private. Still very personal - you can’t engage in real advocacy, activism, care or service without being changed. But my personal purity before God the Father is more than just dealing with lust or prayer. I must also present my finances, my practice of justice and service as well. Studying this passage with a group of young men also challenged me to reconsider the pursuit of purity in light of the quest for ‘true’ manhood.

As Martin Luther King Jr. appropriately said, “Life’s most persistent and urgent question is - What are you doing for others?”