Self-Exam

 

Put to death therefore what is earthly in you…Colossians 3:5a

 

Someone had challenged my daughter at the school lunch table right after we had become Christians, “The Bible doesn’t say anything about cussing.”

We were sure it must but we had no idea what.

At that time we had no bible study tools in our home. Our only concordance was in the back of one Bible. We started our search with cuss, nothing. We tried “curse” and “cursing.” The Bible talks about curses but not the kind we were looking for. We tried “speech” and then finally hit pay dirt in Colossians 3 with “language.”

Colossians 3:8 in the NIV says, But now you must rid yourselves of all such things as these, anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips.” Victory! My daughter was equipped to win the argument.

In this chapter Paul was instructing the Colossian believers about how to live as Christians. In verse 1 he says if we are raised with Christ then we are to seek the things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. I saw this and knew that I was not just supposed to help my daughter win this argument, I was to examine my own thoughts and behaviors against this list in Colossians 3.

Most of us can look at that list and come out looking pretty good. God’s standard isn’t “pretty good,” it’s perfect (Matthew 5:48, You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect). So, how do we get rid of sins like these?

God is so good. Jesus says that we place our faith in Him, that He will ask the Father and He will give us a Helper, the Holy Spirit, to be with us forever (John 14:16). He will remind us when we are in sin. But, there must be more because Paul is talking to Christians.

Paul’s words to “rid yourselves of” or “put away” these sinful behaviors hand us some responsibility in our spiritual growth and obedience. God is gentle and we are willful.  If we will put our minds on things above we will want what he wants for us and we will put away sinful behaviors as they are revealed to us. Even this will not promise obedience. Sometimes we are just blind to areas of weakness and sin. Sometimes we just want to do what we want to do.

There is plenty in these verses to consider. Adultery is not the only sexual immorality or impurity from God’s perspective. How about Pornography? Flirtatious behavior? Maybe anger and rage are someone’s downfall. Many people hold it together well at work and in the church. They go home and unload on their spouses or children.

How about filthy language for you? Cuss words, tasteless jokes, sexual innuendo?

Let’s do a daily self-exam of our behaviors and attitudes. Then, decide what we need to get rid of – and rid ourselves of it.