Since we are NOT to walk as the Gentiles walk ... we looked into what that meant in Day 1's lesson ... how ARE we to walk? Paul begins to explain in practical ways:
1. Lay down falsehood. Quit lying. Quit deceiving and being dishonest. It is of critical importance that the words from our mouths be truth. There is more than one way to lie. We can lie in our speech - sometimes it is deliberate, sometimes it is unconscious - but it is still a lie. And there is the lie of silence. Andre' Maurois coined an interesting phrase: "the menace of the things unsaid." When we give approval by silence ... or withhold a warning or even a rebuke when it needs to be spoken ... there is falsehood alive and well. Paul's reason for this plea is that we are all members of one body. Our bodies only function well and healthy when the messages sent from one part to another are true. When your hand is placed on a burning burner the message sent to your brain needs to be accurate! We even speak of our bodies giving us "warning signs" of something amiss. Paul says for us to lay down falsehood.
2. As we experience anger in our lives, we are not to allow that anger to lead us into sin, into getting off track. There are times for anger, but it is never to be self-serving and it is never to be malicious. I love the prayer "Lord help me to be angry over the things that make you angry." Barclay says, "The anger which is selfish and uncontrolled is a sinful and hurtful thing, which must be banished from the Christian life. But the selfless anger which is disciplined into the service of Christ and of our fellow men is one of the great dynamic forces of the world."
3. It is critical to NOT steal. Don't take things that do not belong to you - things you did not work for nor own - don't take them. That includes reputations as well as things. Be scrupulous with yourself about this. Paul's reason for Christians to work is not to amass things and wealth, but to have resources to give away. That is a revolutionary teaching!
4. And finally, for today ... unwholesome words are not to come out of our mouths. The word, unwholesome, means "rotten". What is to come from our mouths? Certainly not falsehood! But words that build others up in the midst of their current needs and words that spread grace around!
To NOT deal with these behaviors ... to continue to "walk" just like the Gentile, the unbeliever ... is to GRIEVE the Holy Spirit of God. I have had people ask me just what it means to grieve the Spirit. In this context where we find that terminology, I think we must conclude that the Spirit of God grieves, feels that deep well of sadness, when we, as believers, continue to walk just like the world around us.
So get rid of that stuff. You are seated with Christ. You are a new creation, a new entity. You have been given every spiritual blessing in Christ Jesus. We determine to NOT walk like that any more. Instead, we determine to walk in kindness. We determine to be tender-hearted. We determine to be people of forgiveness. Determine with me ... afresh ... today ...
I will close our day's work with a reminder. It is the same reminder that I continually gave to my daughters as they left our house in the morning ...
REMEMBER WHO YOU ARE!
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