"But now ye also put off all these; anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy communication out of your mouth. Lie not one to another, seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds." (Colossians 3:8-9)
Maybe it's because I'm a woman, but the picture Paul paints for me with these words is the idea of putting on and taking off different outfits. Sometimes, when I'm getting ready to go somewhere, my husband will say to me, in frustration, "How many outfits are you going to try on?" But you know how it is, something that looked good in your mind's eye, just didn't work for you when you finally gave it the mirror test. So you take it off and put on something else, right?
That's what Paul is saying (I think). "You're a 'new man' (or woman). Why do you want to wear the same old clothes?" Hey, I can relate to that!
Such "sins" as those mentioned in these verses are "sins in good standing," as Warren Wiersbe calls them. They may not land us in jail or send us to hell, for that matter; but they are all so "last year," for the child of God. Rage, revenge, profanity, vulgarity, and lying are all outdated, tacky, and unbecoming to anyone who names the name of Christ. You only have to take a good, long look in the mirror of God's Word to see that although they may have suited you before you were saved, they somehow just don't hang right now.
I like to dress well—not expensively or flamboyantly—but well. And if that desire only goes as far as my closet and dresser drawers, I'm missing the most important part of my wardrobe. Mark it down: a Chanel suit or a Ralph Lauren dress will never make up for a hateful spirit or a lying tongue. I want to be well dressed...inside as well as outside.
Friend of mine, if we're wearing any of these old clothes, it's time to take 'em off—take 'em all off!
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