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“In, but not of”— if you’ve spent much time Christian circles, you’re probably familiar with this popular phrase. In the world, but not of the world. It captures a truth about Jesus’s followers. There’s a real sense in which we are “in” this world, but not “of” it.

In, but not of. Yes, yes, of course.

But might this punchy phrase be giving the wrong impression about our (co)mission in this world as Christians? The motto could seem to give the drift, We are in this world, alas, but what we really need to do is make sure that we’re not of it.

In this way of configuring things, the starting place is our unfortunate condition of being “in” this world. Sigh. And our mission, it appears, is to not be “of” it. So the force is moving away from the world. “Rats, we’re frustratingly stuck in this ole world, but let’s marshal our best energies to not be of it.” No doubt, it’s an emphasis that’s sometimes needed, but isn’t something essential being downplayed?

We do well to run stuff like this through biblical texts. And on this one in particular, we do well to turn to John 17, where Jesus uses these precise categories of “in the world” and “not of the world.” Let’s look for Jesus’s perspective on this.

Not of This World

On the eve of his crucifixion, Jesus prays to his Father in John 17:14–19,

I have given them your word, and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one. They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth. As you sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world. And for their sake I consecrate myself, that they also may be sanctified in truth.

Notice Jesus’ references to his disciples being “not of the world.” Verse 14: “The world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world.” And there it is again in verse 16: “They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world.”

Let’s all agree it’s clear that Jesus does not want his followers to be “of the world.” Amen. He says that he himself is “not of the world,” and his disciples are “not of the world.” Here’s a good impulse in the slogan “in, but not of.”

It’s Going Somewhere

But notice that for Jesus being “not of the world” isn’t the destination in these verses but the starting place. It’s not where things are moving toward, but what they’re moving from. He is not of the world, and he begins by saying that his followers are not of the world. But it’s going somewhere. Jesus is not huddling up the team for another round of kumbaya, but so that we can run the next play and advance the ball down the field.

Enter verse 18: “As you sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world.” And don’t miss the surprising prayer of verse 15: “I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one.”

Sent into This World

Jesus is not asking his Father for his disciples to be taken out of the world, but he is praying for them as they are “sent into” the world. He begins with them being “not of the world” and prays for them as they are “sent into” the world.

So maybe it would serve us better — at least in light of John 17 — to revise the popular phrase “in, but not of” in this way: “not of, but sent into.” The beginning place is being “not of the world,” and the movement is toward being “sent into” the world. The accent falls on being sent, with a mission, to the world — not being mainly on a mission to disassociate from this world.

Crucified to the World — And Raised to It

Jesus’s assumption in John 17 is that those who have embraced him, and identified with him, are indeed not of the world. And now his summons is our sending — we are sent into the world on mission for gospel advance through disciplemaking.

Jesus’s true followers have not only been crucified to the world, but also raised to new life and sent back in to free others. We’ve been rescued from the darkness and given the Light not merely to flee the darkness, but to guide our steps as we go back in to rescue others.

So let’s revise the popular phrase “in, but not of.” We Christians are not of this world, but sent into it. Not of, but sent into.

David Mathis is leading a seminar at our upcoming National Conference on how mission and disciple-making relate to sanctification.

God’s holiness.

“Oh dear!” you might sigh — and I’d understand, for without the Trinity, holiness does have the smell of mothballs about it, the look of a Victorian matron administering castor oil. And much of what purports to be holiness has just that aura about it: all prickliness and prudery. People even say things like, “Yes, God is loving, but he is also holy” — as if holiness is an unloving thing, the cold side of God that stops God from being too loving.

Balderdash! Poppycock! Or at least, it is if you are talking about the holiness of the Father, Son and Spirit. No, said Jonathan Edwards:

Holiness is a most beautiful, lovely thing. Men are apt to drink in strange notions of holiness from their childhood, as if it were a melancholy, morose, sour, and unpleasant thing; but there is nothing in it but what is sweet and ravishingly lovely. ’Tis the highest beauty and amiableness, vastly above all other beauties; ’tis a divine beauty.[1]

What is holiness, then? The words used for holiness in the Bible have the basic meaning of being “set apart.” But there our troubles begin, because naturally I think I’m lovely. So if God is “set apart” from me, I assume the problem is with him (and I can do all this in the subtlest, most subconscious way). His holiness looks like a prissy rejection of my happy, healthy loveliness.

Dare I burst my own bubble now? I must.

For the reality is that I am the cold, selfish, vicious one, full of darkness and dirtiness. And God is holy — “set apart” from me — precisely in that he is not like that. He is not set apart from us in priggishness, but by the fact that there are no such ugly traits in him as there are in us.

“God is God,” wrote Edwards, “and distinguished from [that is, set apart from] all other beings, and exalted above ’em, chiefly by his divine beauty” (for the connection between holiness and beauty, see verses like Psalm 96:9).[2]

Now the holiness of a single-person God would be something quite different. His holiness would be about being set apart away from others. In other words, his holiness would be all about aloof distance. But the holiness of the Father, Son and Spirit is all about love. Given who this God is, it must be.

Edwards again: “Both the holiness and happiness of the Godhead consists in this love. As we have already proved, all creature holiness consists essentially and summarily in love to God and love to other creatures; so does the holiness of God consist in his love, especially in the perfect and intimate union and love there is between the Father and the Son.”[3]

The holiness of the triune God is the perfection, beauty and absolute purity of the love there is between the Father and the Son. There is nothing grubby or abusive about the love of this God — and thus he is holy. My love is naturally all perverse and misdirected; but his love is set apart from mine in perfection. And so, the holiness of the triune God does not moderate or cool his love; his holiness is the lucidity and spotlessness of his overflowing love.

It all dramatically affects what it means for the believer to be holy, to be godly — in other words, what it means to be like God. Being like another God would look quite different. If God is a being curved in on himself, then to be like him I should be like that. If Aristotle’s eternally introspective God is God, then plenty of navel-gazing seems to be just what’s called for.

For what we think God is like must shape our godliness, and what we think godliness is reveals what we think of God. So, what, for example, if love and relationship were not central to God’s being? Then they wouldn’t feature for me either as I sought to grow in God-likeness. Forget others. If God is all single and solitary, be a hermit. If God is cruel and haughty, be cruel and haughty. If God is the sort of oversexed, beer-sloshing war-god beloved of the Vikings, be like that. (Though please don’t.)

But with this God, no wonder the two greatest commands are “Love the Lord your God” and “Love your neighbor as yourself.” For that is being like this God — sharing the love the Father and the Son have for each other, and then, like them, overflowing with that love to the world. Or look, for example, at Leviticus 19, where the Lord famously says, “Be holy because I, the Lord your God, am holy” (Leviticus 19:2). What does holiness look like there? It means not turning to idols but coming to the Lord with proper fellowship offerings (Leviticus 19:4–8). That is, it means fellowship with the Lord. And it means not being mean to the poor, not lying, not stealing, and so on (Leviticus 19:10–16) — that is, it means: “Do not hate your brother in your heart . . . but love your neighbor as yourself” (Leviticus 19:17–18). Love for the Lord, love for neighbor — that is the heart of holiness and how the triune God’s people get to be like him.

The beautiful, loving holiness of this God makes true godliness a warm, attractive, delightful thing. It is not about becoming more mean and pinched, for this God is not mean and pinched. Holiness for God, said Edwards, “is as it were the beauty and sweetness of the divine nature,” and so “Christians that shine by reflecting the light of the Sun of Righteousness, do shine with the same sort of brightness, the same mild, sweet and pleasant beams.”[4]

And most essentially, to know and enjoy the God who is love means becoming, like him, loving. “Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love” (1 John 4:7–8).

This post was adapted from pages 114–117 of Michael Reeves’ new book, Delighting in the Trinity: An Introduction to the Christian Faith (IVP Academic, 2012). Posted here by permission of the author. ©2012 by Michael Reeves. All rights reserved.

Solid Joys – Solid Joys is a new, free application available from Desiring God for iPhone and iPad which provides a short daily devotional excerpt from the ministry of John Piper.

A Stark Contrast – I enjoyed reading this blogger’s experience of inadvertently witnessing an adoption.

Angry Christians – Here is D.A. Carson talking about angry Christians and the devil’s tactics. “I think one of the devil’s tactics with respect to the church on the Right today is to make them so hate everybody else that at the end of the day they can’t be believed anywhere, not even the proclamation of the gospel.”

Worshiping at the Altar of Family – I appreciate much of what Ted Kluck says in this article posted at The Gospel Coalition.

US Presidential Elections – This infographic looks at money and presidential elections. “In America, winning the Presidency has proven to be a question of how much money you’re willing to spend. The trend constantly shows that, he who spends the most money on elections, usually wins. ”

8 Tips for a Great Story – Here’s one for pastors or anyone else who occasionally needs to tell a good story in order to illustrate a point.

Nobody can do as much damage to the church of God as the man who is within its walls, but not within its life. —C.H. Spurgeon

A good leader makes assumptions…A GREAT leader asks questions!

A good leader waits for feedback…A GREAT leader solicits feedback!

A good leader finds reasons for the problem…A GREAT leader finds solutions for the problem!

A good leader takes notes…A GREAT leader creates actions steps!

A good leader works a job…a GREAT leader invests their lives in what they do!

A good leader leads through declarations…a GREAT leader leads through influence!

A good leader makes promises…a GREAT leader keeps their promises!

A good leader is obsessed with gathering information…a GREAT leader is willing to make the tough call after receiving the proper information.

A good leader is supported by those who follow him…a GREAT leader supports those who follow him!

A good leader asks “What Are You Doing”…a GREAT leader asks “How Are You Doing?”

Dads, there are some things only you can give your kids. And I’m not talking about basketball shoes or cell phones or bigger allowances or expensive vacations. These are gifts much more important than that—and much more valuable. Give your children these gifts, and you will reap the benefits for years to come. Withhold them, and you take the chance of watching helplessly as they head down the wrong road.

Gift #1—Love Their Mom

Communicate regularly and lovingly with your wife — especially in front of the children. Take an interest in her interests, do unexpected things for her, treat her the way you did when you were pursuing her. You may think that romancing your wife has little to do with fatherhood, but it is key to helping your children feel safe and loved.

Block out a night once or twice a month for a date night with your wife — just the two of you. I know, I know. You think you’re too busy or it’s too expensive. But it’s an investment you can’t afford not to make. Love your wife and show it. The best way to be a good father is to be a good husband.

Gift #2—Teach Your Kids Respect

Part of the growing-up process is to test boundaries: to see how much you can get away with; to see where the lines are drawn. Your children will push back. You need to be clear about what’s expected of them. Teaching them respect begins in the early years, and it must be reinforced by both parents.

Teach them simple lessons to undergird the importance of respect:

Look people in the eyes when you speak to them
The universe doesn’t revolve around you
Express thanks with a grateful heart
Dive in and serve
Respond with obedience the first time you’re asked
Treat your mother with respect and honor

Gift #3—Make Some Memories with Your Kids

Get in the picture. Create traditions together as a family. Don’t allow time or money to become an excuse. Let’s be honest, you will spend the money on something, so why not invest in activities that will deepen your family bond? Your effort to create memories will make a lasting impression.

But you don’t have to go into debt to make memories. Maybe you can start a tradition, an annual activity around a holiday. It might be a spur-of-the-moment surprise, game night or movie night, a trip to see the Christmas lights, tubing on the river, or a Memorial Day cookout. Making memories doesn’t have to cost a lot. It just has to be a priority.

Make memories with each of your children. In years to come, they won’t remember what you spent. They’ll remember what you did.

Gift #4—Give Spiritual Direction to Your Family

A father is without question the single most significant influence on the spiritual life of his children. The statistical data from three major studies in recent years is overwhelming. If the father is involved in a church and is growing spiritually, the likelihood of the child doing the same skyrockets. If Mom goes to church alone with the kids, the chances plummet.

Numbers don’t lie:

If a child is the first person in a household to become a Christian, there is a 3.5 percent probability everyone else in the household will follow.
If the mother is the first to become a Christian, there is a 17 percent probability everyone else in the household will follow.
But if the father is first, there is a 93 percent probability everyone else in the household will follow.
Little eyes are watching. Little ears are listening. As Albert Schweitzer said, “Example is not the main thing in influencing others. It is the only thing.” If you want to produce the real thing, you must be the real thing.

Gift # 5—Encourage Your Kids

Your children need to know that you are in their corner. We are all busy and pulled a lot of directions, but when your son or daughter takes the stage, the court, or the field, that glance into the crowd is a subtle search for significance. Your absence deflates them. Your presence shouts that they have value. They can pick your voice out of a crowd with the precision of a piano tuner.

Dads play a key role in determining whether children venture outside their comfort zone or fearfully settle for a status quo existence. Your genuine affirmation provides a safety net for taking risks and stretching their confidence.

Gift #6—Invest Quality Time

At one time in my life, I was enjoying the climb rather than focusing my attention and priorities on my wife and small children. The ministry, like any other profession, can eat you alive if you let it. I gave at the office — sixty-hour weeks like an obsessed and driven workaholic.

All that changed one Father’s Day. Before my sermon a soloist sang a song with this refrain:

Slow down, Daddy, don’t work so hard.

We’re proud of our house, we’ve got a big enough yard.

Slow down, Daddy — we want you around —

Daddy, please slow down.

When she finished singing, I went to the pulpit to preach. I opened my mouth, but no words came out. The emotion and guilt left me speechless.

The congregation had to sing a chorus so that I could regain my composure.

God used the words of that song as a wake-up call. With the Lord’s help, I changed. I put my family back on the priority list. Ever since then, I’ve been in the picture. Sometimes a little fuzzy and out of focus, but there. And I plan to stay there. Forever.

SUMMARY

Dads, be encouraged. You can do this. You really can . . . just not on your own. Invite the Lord and your wife into the equation. From this point forward, things can be different.

Things can be better.

Check your priorities. Be intentional.

Slow down. Step up.

Get in the picture.

When you look back years from now, both you and your family will be glad you did.

… and where are you going?

The world is constantly changing,
… becoming more demanding daily,
… things sre getting worse … everywhere!
… Therefore …
… more than ever before …
… it is important to know where you are …
… and where you are going!
!!!
How can you know …&… How can you be sure?
By putting your trust in Him! …

Thy word is a lamp unto my feet,
and a light unto my path.
— Ps 119:105

If you need to know where you are at…
… and what your standard should be …
… then …
Make God’s Word your standard…
… and you will know where you are at!
In the light of God’s Word …
… what should not be in your life will come to the light,
… and the Word will show you how to deal with it!
!!!
If you in any doubt as to where you should be going …
… and what God has for you …
Let God’s Word light up the path you should take.
…
You may well say …
I have read it all, but I still don’t know what to do!
… that is why God gave you a Helper …
… to show you what to do …

Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come,
he will guide you into all truth:
for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear,
that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come.
— John 16:13

The Holy Spirit will not only help you locate yourself …
… He will show you things to come …
… and guide you to where you should be!
…
Want to know where you are at …
… and where you should be going?
Just turn to God’s Word and ask the Holy Spirit …
He is waiting to answer and guide you along the way!

… Read …
Jer. 33:3
John 14:16-18
John 14:26

A man’s pride shall bring him low: but honour shall uphold the humble in spirit.

Are you going up or down in life? A simple factor will either lift you up or press you down – your pride. Arrogance will bring you low, but humility will get you honor. It is your choice what you decide today, but you cannot stop the certain punishment for pride.

Are you more a prince or a prisoner? Are you honored or hardly known? Every person wants a successful life, and this simple proverb tells you how. One of the greatest influences in your progress is your attitude about yourself. If you are haughty and proud, you are going down! If you are meek, modest, and reserved, you are going up!

King Solomon warned often against pride, and he had reasons to be conceited. He had the most wisdom, wealth, and power, and he was attractive! But he blasted pride as an evil that destroys men’s lives. He warned his son and his citizens. The many repetitions in a book of wisdom declare loudly – this subject is important and tends to be overlooked.

“Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall” (Pr 16:18). “When pride cometh, then cometh shame: but with the lowly is wisdom” (Pr 11:2). “Before destruction the heart of man is haughty, and before honour is humility” (Pr 18:12). “Seest thou a man wise in his own conceit? there is more hope of a fool than of him” (Pr 26:12).

How will pride take you down and humility bring you honor? Men hate arrogance, and they love graciousness (Pr 9:6-9; 11:2; 14:3; 21:24; 22:10-11). If you are conceited and haughty, you will not grow in favor with men; they will do what they can to cut you off from friendships and opportunities. If you are meek, modest, and submissive, men will appreciate and enjoy your spirit and do what they can to include and promote you.

How will pride take you down and humility bring you honor? Conceit and haughtiness lead to bad decisions, because you are too arrogant to hear others, and you are too confident to criticize your ideas (Pr 11:2; 12:15; 14:16; 16:25; 22:3; 26:12,16; 29:20). You are doomed! A humble man, who trusts the Lord, doubts his opinions and is eager to hear the view of others (Pr 3:5-7; 6:6; 11:14; 12:15; 15:32; 19:20). He will prosper!

How will pride take you down and humility bring you honor? If the first two results do not bring you down (they will eventually), the final result most surely will. God hates the proud, and it does not matter how much effort they make to protect themselves – He will destroy them (Pr 3:34; 6:16-17; 15:25; 16:2,5; 21:2; Job 40:9-14; Dan 4:37; Acts 12:21-23). But God will bless and exalt the humble in spirit (Pr 3:34; Is 57:15; 66:2).

Contrary to Solomon’s inspired wisdom, the world considers pride a virtue and defends conceit. From athletes to actresses to politicians, bloated egos and haughty words are the norm. Children are taught self-esteem and self-love until they are convinced the universe revolves around them. All ages now boldly announce, “I am proud of what I have accomplished,” though anything they have is a gift (I Cor 4:7). Pride is a terrible sin!

They should be taught to love and serve others, for that is the second commandment of only two that summarize the whole Christian religion (Mark 12:28-33). The heresy of loving and esteeming self is a symptom of perilous times (II Tim 3:1-2). Wisdom learns that making others more important than you is a rule for happy contentment (Phil 2:3-5).

Every person has an internal enemy that promotes pride – called the pride of life (I John 2:15-17). The devil seeks to tempt this human default to pride. He told Eve she could be like God for eating the forbidden fruit (Gen 3:4-6). He dared Jesus Christ to prove He was God’s Son, trying to draw forth pride, but He found nothing in Him (Matt 4:5-7).

How can you check if you are proud? How cheerfully do you take correction? Can you quickly admit you are wrong and apologize? How easily do you forgive others? Do you criticize others verbally, for proud words come from a proud heart? Is it easy to serve others, especially those lower than you? Do you question whether you are right or not?

What is in your heart? Sinful thoughts of ambition and pride that condemned the devil (I Tim 3:6)? Or the childlike humility that led to Solomon’s greatness (I Kgs 3:6-9)? The greatest kingdom is Christ’s, but the greatest in it are the servants (Matt 23:10-12). If you humble yourself under God’s mighty hand, He will exalt you soon (I Pet 5:6-7).

If you want to pursue this subject further, and you should, review sermons an honest man of God has preached from the Bible against pride. Scripture has much to say against it, so faithful preachers must preach against it periodically. Remember, your future depends on you learning this lesson. Pride will bring you low, but humility will bring you honor.

The Man and King with the most right to pride was Jesus Christ, but He was known for incredible humility and meekness instead (Matt 11:29; Phil 2:5-8; II Cor 10:1). He never promoted Himself, though He had the most reason to do so (Is 42:1-2; Matt 12:18-20). Of course, He is now honored above all the hosts of heaven, confirming Solomon’s proverb!

A La Carte (8/28) by Tim Challies

School of Theology – Derek Thomas has begun a two-year school of theology and each one of the sessions is being recorded and shared online. He is only one week in, so you can listen to that message and you’re already all caught up.

Transforming Grace – Jerry Bridges’ Transforming Grace is down to $2.99 on Kindle.

A Soldier and a Son – Greg Lucas writes of his son: “Noah has always been a warrior with a tender warrior spirit—which is the best kind of soldier as far as I am concerned. He cares deeply, serves obediently, loves Jesus and is very familiar with adversity. These are the traits of most true heros.”

Friends of the Blog – Friends of the Blog will find a couple of new items at the Friends site, including a gift from Eternal Perspectives Ministries. And there is more to come!

Life Is Cheap in Norway – John Piper: “Anders Breivik’s sentence for killing 77 people in Norway on July 22, 2011 is outrageous. He was deemed sane and sentenced to serve 21 years in prison ‘in a three-cell suite of rooms equipped with exercise equipment, a television and a laptop.’ That’s 100 days of posh prison time for each person he murdered, with a legal release possible at age 53. Life is cheap in Norway.”

5 Reasons to Read Leviticus – Here are five good reasons to read the book of Leviticus. The first reason is especially relevant today: “It’s the Enemy’s Favorite Book to Tear Apart (Think Shellfish, Polyester, Tattoos, and Homosexuality).”

Providence is much more about God’s glory than our happiness. —Geoffrey Grogan

All through history there have been the few who have benefitted at the expense of the many and the rich who have benefitted at the expense of the poor. Sometimes the progressive have benefitted at the expense of those who are falling behind. Many cities have produced endless amounts of waste and have flushed it into rivers that have delivered that waste, and all the death and disease that attends it, to people who live far downstream.

I thought of this as I read an article Al Mohler wrote for The Atlantic (he wrote the article, they chose the photo, unfortunately). Helen Gurley Brown died two weeks ago and Mohler wrote about her life and legacy as one of the most important and most underestimated agents of the sexual revolution. “Since 1960 we have experienced a moral revolution that has transformed every dimension of American life, and the death of Helen Gurley Brown is a reminder that the sexual revolution did not happen by accident. Like all revolutions, this one required moral revolutionaries.”

Her contribution was in creating the cultural category of the “single girl” and in convincing that single girl to liberate herself from all the traditional sexual mores. The single girl could and, indeed, should, have sex freely and with as many partners as she desired.

When Brown’s Sex and the Single Girl hit the bookstores in 1962, it lit a firestorm of controversy. A former advertising writer, then recently married to a leading Hollywood producer, Helen Gurley Brown dared to scandalize the nation, virtually inventing the “single girl” as a cultural category. Brown urged young women to see themselves as empowered by sex, money, and men—but without any need for the traditional commitment to marriage.

Her argument was so scandalous at the time that no major publisher would touch the book. The bookstores were filled with books offering advice to young wives and mothers, but Helen Gurley Brown was openly inventing a new cultural category, the sexually liberated single girl.

The single girl “is engaging because she lives by her wits,” declared Brown, who pointed to her younger self as a prime example of the empowered single girl she now celebrated.

And, most central to Brown’s vision, the single girl is having sex, a lot of sex, and enjoying romantic relations with men, lots of men.

Most scandalous of all was Helen Gurley Brown’s insistence that married men were not off limits for sexual affairs—not by a long shot. Married men, she advised, were among other things, “frequently marvelous in bed and careful not to get you pregnant.”

As I read about Brown’s life, I was deeply saddened and disturbed on at least a couple of different levels.

The first is that this revolution she began is one she herself indulged in for a time before falling into more traditional patterns. As Dr. Mohler says, “She was a living contradiction, who argued that being the single girl was the ideal, but then married; and that married men were fair game for adulterous affairs, but then drew the line at her husband.” Like so many revolutionaries, she sparked a revolution but demanded no moral accountability of herself. When she stepped out of that revolution and when it went far beyond what she could ever have imagined, no one called her to account. Like so many revolutionaries, she was a walking contradiction, which is to say, an utter, outright hypocrite. Her revolution continued even after she had grown tired of it or perhaps stopped believing in it.

The second observation is that young women today are convinced that their bodies are all their own, that they can hook up with whomever they want whenever they want without emotional scars. What is tragic is that they think this is their own idea, that they are the revolutionaries. What they don’t see is that they are swimming downstream from someone else’s sewage. Like a city that pumps waste into a river and watches it disappear around the bend on its way to the next place, Brown created moral sewage, and a whole generation—several generations—are mucking around in it, bearing all the consequences. And in some way we are all downstream from the revolutionary sinners, the ones who create new categories for sin, who create new and shocking ways to sin, and who so often eventually step back to watch us flounder in their mess.

Mohler aptly summarizes her impact: “A single individual cannot accomplish a moral revolution, but such revolutions cannot happen without individuals who are willing to make their arguments in public, push them with energy over decades, and never sound retreat. Helen Gurley Brown was not just a celebrity. She was a moral revolutionary who lived long enough to see the sexual revolution become our mainstream culture.”

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