"Do Not Follow Their Practices"

The LORD said to Moses, “Speak to the Israelites and say to them: ‘I am the LORD your God. You must not do as they do in Egypt, where you used to live, and you must not do as they do in the land of Canaan, where I am bringing you. Do not follow their practices. You must obey my laws and be careful to follow my decrees. I am the LORD your God. Keep my decrees and laws, for the person who obeys them will live by them. I am the LORD. (Leviticus 18: 1-5)

Sandwiched in between what you can eat and who you can have sex with is a general statement that deals with conduct. The Israelites had lived for 400 years in Egypt. They had lived as slaves there and were subjected to Egypt's lifestyle. God had brought them out of that and was now bringing them into a land of pagans. They would now be surrounded by idol worshippers and heathens. Out of the fire and into the frying pan, as they say.
God tells His people that they must not live like the Egyptians and that they must not live like the Canaanites. They must abandon old habits and must not take on the habits of their new neighbors. He calls His people to live in a new way, under His laws and decrees. Living a life of obedience to His laws will change the Israelites lives. "Do not follow their practices", He tells them.
Simple enough, right. I mean, who having been freed from slavery would return to living the way they did as slaves. Right? Who, having been delivered to a new homeland would abandon the deliverer and live like those around them? Right?
We all come from somewhere. To some extent, we all are a product of our environment. You might have been raised in an awful environment and have developed terrible habits. You might have moved into a horrible neighborhood. Who we are, how we live, what practices we adopt is all within our ability to choose. God gives us freewill. He makes it possible for us to come from an abusive home and still choose to be kind and loving. He gives us the ability to live in the gang infested neighborhoods of Los Angeles and choose to live for Him. We are no different than the Israelites. We were all slaves to sin at some point and God has led us out of that, but He didn't take us out of this world. His desire is that we live in this world and be His representatives, live lives that reflect His goodness.
"Do you not know that to whom you present yourselves slaves to obey, you are that one’s slaves whom you obey, whether of sin leading to death, or of obedience leading to righteousness? But God be thanked that though you were slaves of sin, yet you obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine to which you were delivered. And having been set free from sin, you became slaves of righteousness." (Romans 6:16-18) Freed from sin, slaves to righteousness. That is Gods' call on our lives. Wherever we are from, wherever we live now, God calls us to lives of righteousness. He says to us, "do not follow their practices". He places this call between what goes into our bodies and what we do with our bodies. He calls us to live differently. He calls us to purity in all areas of our lives, what we allow to enter into us and what we do with our lives.
Be careful little hands what you do, oh be careful little eyes what you see, oh be careful little ears what you hear, the Father up above is looking down with love, so be careful......
May God richly bless our lives as live for Him.