The popular belief that all lifestyles are equal is an obvious myth. Take the lifestyle of alcohol and drug abuse for example. It produces intense emotional pain, broken homes, slavery to compulsion, criminal activity, moral collapse, and jail or prison time. Ask an addict and he or she will tell you that his lifestyle is far worse than a lifestyle of sobriety.

How about the lifestyle of adultery? Is it equal to the lifestyle of faithfulness to your spouse? Let me ask you this: Would you rather your spouse be faithful to you or would you rather he or she commit adultery whenever the whim comes to mind? Obviously these two lifestyle choices are not equal!

The myth that “all lifestyles are equal” has yanked the meaning out of two important words — repent and righteousness. Repent means “to change your lifestyle.” If all lifestyles are equal repentance becomes meaningless because people falsely believe that there is no need for them to change the way they are living.

Righteousness means “right living.” If all lifestyles are equal, then there is no such thing as right living.

You may choose to accept the misery making myth that ”all lifestyes are equal.” But wouldn’t it be better to work hard to repent of every wrongful thought, word, and behavior; and to strive daily to live right?