“…and to keep himself unspotted from the world.” James 1:27b

“There is a little animal that lives in the forests of northern Europe and Asia called an ermine. This little animal has one of the most beautiful coats of any other animal and is sought for by the fur traders of the world. This little animal will protect its beautiful coat at the cost of its own life. It is said that when the hunters go after the ermine, they do not set a snare or a trap to catch it, but take cruel advantage of its peculiar pride in its white fur coat. They will find where its lair is and daub the entrance to it with filth. The hunters set the dogs on the trail of the animal and chase it to the entrance of its home which may be a hollow tree or a cleft in a rock. When the ermine flees from the dogs to his lair and finds it spread with filth, rather than defile its beautiful coat, it will turn and face the dogs and fight and defile its coat with blood rather than defile it with the filth.”

The Bible tells us that Lot was vexed with the filthy conversation of the wicked. As believers we must be in the world but we must not behave like the world. Our language, our conduct, our moral values, everything about us should be light in a dark world. We should guard our testimony like the little ermine guards its coat.

Source: http://articles.christianbaptists.com/Art/404/63/Purity.html