How to Change Your Spiritual Wardrobe

For those of us who like everything listed out neatly, here are the two lists in Colossians 3.

What To Take Off

• sexual immorality
• impurity
• lust
• evil desires
• greed (= idolatry)
• anger
• rage
• malice
• slander
• filthy language
• lying

What To Put On

• compassion
• kindness
• humility
• gentleness
• patience
• forgiveness
• love

The driven, task-oriented amongst us will probably print out the lists, put them up somewhere they would see every day and make them their New Year Resolutions. From experience, only the very disciplined amongst us can make it work. And for the rest of us, we will find it very frustrating, because we are not doing things the way God wants us to do them.

How ARE We Supposed to Change?

1) Think About Godly Things

Colossians 3:1-3 – Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. (NIV)

I remember the days I so wanted to live a God-pleasing life. I had been a believer for years before that, but because I was not in fellowship with other brethren and didn't have a proper devotional life, I was convinced that it was unrealistic and unattainable. But I still wanted to try anyway.

I wasn't too sure I could follow the instructions in the Bible, but I decided that the least I could was KNOW what the instructions were. So I just made it a point to read the Bible daily. At that time I didn't know the power of reading the Bible aloud, but even then the 15-20 minutes each time, done 2-3 times a day, was enough to start changing my mind into thinking that obeying God wasn't that unrealistic and unattainable after all.

And let's face it, that was a very necessary first step!

2) Know God

Colossians 3:10 - … and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator (NIV)

In verses 9-10, Paul tells us since you have take off our old self (and its habits) and put on the new self by being renewed in knowledge in the image of our Creator. This tells me that I ought to put less attention less on changing my lifestyle and more on knowing the God who created the new me.

Consider the following:

Lev 20:26 - You are to be holy to me because I, the LORD, am holy, and I have set you apart from the nations to be my own. (NIV)

Knowing the holiness of God will spur us into holy living. Notice how God uses himself as an example for us to follow?

Deut 10:18-19 - He defends the cause of the fatherless and the widow, and loves the foreigner residing among you, giving them food and clothing. And you are to love those who are foreigners, for you yourselves were foreigners in Egypt. (NIV)

And in the New Testament, we are told to imitate God:

Eph 5:1-2 - Therefore be imitators of God as dear children. And walk in love, as Christ also has loved us and given Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling aroma. (NKJV)

But how can we imitate God unless we deeply and intimately know him? We need to meditate on his wonders and his deeds (Psa 77:12). When we do, and realize that we are his children and thus carry his DNA in our spirit, we then begin to find ourselves living as his children would.

3) Recognize that we are the chosen, holy and dearly loved

Colossians 3:12-14 - Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity. (NIV)

This is the earlier step, Knowing God, and carries it a step further. When we know God and how much he loves us, it becomes easy to clothe ourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and so on. Why? Because we know God is like that, and he has treated us thus. And that makes it reasonable for us to do likewise.

Conclusion:

All these steps may seem simple. They are. But don't let the simplicity deceive you. They require us to put in consistent and regular effort to renew our minds. We used to live in the ways of the world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air (Eph 2:2) and so it will take time and deliberate effort to change our thought patterns and emotional habits.

It's not an easy journey. But I can assure you that you will find joy and delight in it as you know you please God in your thoughts, words and deeds. Shall we continue this journey together?

Be blessed!