"We have learned to live with unholiness and have come to look upon it as the natural and expected thing"

Aiden Wilson Tozer’s observation draws attention to the subtle acclimatization of individuals and societies to patterns of thought and behavior that conflict with moral or spiritual ideals. Over time, a repeated exposure to what was once considered unholy, immoral, or beneath the highest ideals of goodness, can dull the collective conscience. Things that once provoked discomfort, outrage, or a sense of spiritual alarm may gradually become familiar. Instead of sharp resistance or sorrow over decline, there is a resigned acceptance or even an expectation that such conditions are simply normal life.

This transition does not happen overnight, but emerges as unholiness creeps into daily routines, language, art, entertainment, and personal habits. The tragic aspect lies not merely in the prevalence of the unholy, but in the shifting standards, when the line between right and wrong is quietly and unconsciously redrawn. As communities lower their expectations, individuals can lose their sense of divine calling or moral aspiration. The heart becomes desensitized; the threat is not a single act of disobedience, but the quiet, persistent erosion of the desire for holiness altogether.

Tozer’s insight is a call to awaken from complacency and reevaluate what has subtly become commonplace. The normalization of unholiness suggests a spiritual lethargy; what was once cause for genuine repentance is now met with shrugs or rationalizations. The world shapes these expectations, pressing men and women into molds that seem inevitable, but Tozer challenges readers not to accept this as immutable reality. Instead, he points toward the necessity of cultivating a holy dissatisfaction, a willingness to notice where true standards have slipped and to long again for virtue, purity, and a vibrant relationship with the divine. Overcoming the normalization of unholiness begins with a renewed attentiveness, a fresh reverence, and the courage to live differently, regardless of cultural trends.