The word “holy” is a key word in God’s dealings with His people. God is holy, thus everything associated with God is and must be holy. When God gave the pattern in Exodus 28 for the garments of the high priest, one piece of his “uniform” was a turban. On the front (not the back or the side) of the turban, they were to place a pure gold plate (not silver, not bronze, not gold-plated). On the plate (on the front of the high priest’s head) were to be engraved these words—“HOLINESS TO THE LORD.” When the high priest went about his work for the Lord, he himself was to be reminded that he and his work were holy to the Lord. When others saw the high priest, they were to be reminded that he and his work were holy to the Lord.
Fast forward to our role in the New Testament. In First Peter 1:15-16, we are commanded to be holy, for He who called us is holy. Then in chapter 2, Christians are identified as “a holy priesthood…a royal priesthood, a holy nation…” (2:5, 9). Our lives are to be HOLINESS TO THE LORD! These words need to be branded, not on our turbans, but on our hearts.