James 1:21
So throw all spoiled virtue and cancerous evil in the garbage. In simple humility, let our gardener, God, landscape you with the Word, making a salvation-garden of your life.
(from THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language © 2002 by Eugene H. Peterson. All rights reserved.)
I ran across this passage today. It reminded me of a concept that I teach my students: Burn your bridges. Often when we decide to break a bad habit we leave a way back to it. Whether consciously or unconsciously, we leave a way to make it easier to return to it. I say burn the bridge. For instance, if you want to stop smoking, you need to clean tobacco out of every nook and cranny in your house. Don't go to places where people smoke. Avoid going to place tobacco is sold. If you decide to stop smoking, but leave a pack of cigarettes "just in case," you aren't ready to quit. Burn your bridge. Make it impossible (or at least as difficult as possible) to return to that habit.
This concept translates to any sin or habit in your life. We've got to stop making it easy to sin. In the passage above, the word translated "throw ... in the garbage" literally means to "lay it down and push it beyond reach". In Sparkling Gems from the Greek, Rick Renner says that it is the word used in the first century to describe someone removing filthy work clothes and putting them beyond where they can influence sleep in preparation to get into a clean bed. How silly would it be to put muddy, sweaty, stinky, filthy clothes back on and climb between clean sheets!
What bridge do you need to burn? You may need to delete an Internet link. You may need to block a channel on your TV. You may need to throw something out (all the way to the outside garbage can). You may need to delete a phone number from your phone's memory. It's individual to you. Burn your bridge right now.
Romans 13:14
Instead, clothe yourself with the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ. And don't let yourself think about ways to indulge your evil desires.
Holy Bible, New Living Translation ®, copyright © 1996, 2004 by Tyndale Charitable Trust. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers. All rights reserved.
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You know the economy is bad when people are growing their own hats
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2 comments:
I'm going to have to Amen this one. Someone once told me that Amen meant "right on" that sounds right, but... well, it is really not. That is a transliteration. Amen was used in making oaths (you know those unbreakable commitments!) And it actually means "let it be so" Let's all have a big "LET IT BE SO" and then proceed to ACT in that DIRECTION!
I believe "right on" is 70's speak for "let it be so". :)
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