Let me present you with a riddle, one that is fitting for the few days left before the door to the present year is closed and a door to the new year is opened. This riddle, as the title indicates, is one that only you can answer. I left out an opening verse intentionally. But don’t peak ahead to the closing verses, a couple of passages, until you have thought about your answer to my question.
The riddle: Christmas has come and gone, and now it’s time to get rid of some things. What do you have to get rid of? I know you! You have already started trying to arrive at the answer. Let me help you out. Am I referring to the holiday décor that you possibly pull out every year, but the annual use that has caused notable wear and tear is signaling that it is time to go? The answer is, “No!” Am I picturing how you are deciding what outdated or outgrown clothing items and old shoes you need to offer as a donation to a certain charity or give away to someone else in order to make room for all your new clothes and shoes that were given to you as gifts? Or will the closet clean-out be just something you need to do that you have put off all the days of the passing year? Again the answer is a resounding, “No!” Perhaps you are thinking you need to get rid of that beautiful fruit cake that your favorite relative gave you, same as last year. You know the one you could possibly use as an exercise weight, or a door stop. In know the Lord loves a cheerful giver and a grateful recipient of gifts, but am I referring to the fruit cake? Absolutely not! Do I want you to conclude that I am referring to all those Christmas cards and envelopes, the ones you shook to see if any money or gift cards was in them before you even read the meaningful, heartfelt, and possibly handwritten greeting? One more time I must say, “No!”
Let me give you some more help. What I’m looking for in your answer is what you personally recognize that you have to get rid of that which is interfering, invalidating, impacting your character, in such a way, that it puts in jeopardy your character being rightfully called “Christian character” by others? Don’t fret, we all, including myself, can come up with something that will cause us to live up in a more perfect way to Christ’s expectation that we are the salt of the earth and the light of the world. Now as you answer the question, you might need a piece of paper to write yourself a “Things To Get Rid Of” note. Don’t let any wise personal thoughts or persuasion of the worldly type interrupt your intent of answering my riddle with the utmost integrity. Now, go to work! What do you have to get rid of? By the way, you can look at the verses below if you want before you make your notations or notable reminders. Love you! Hmmm! I got to go find my note pad too! Maybe I will share it with you tomorrow! Perhaps! But for the moment stay focused on answering the riddle as it applies to you. Be blessed!
“But you know better now, so make sure it’s all gone for good: bad temper, irritability, meanness, profanity, dirty talk. Don’t lie to one another. You’re done with that old life. It’s like a filthy set of ill-fitting clothes you’ve stripped off and put in the fire. Now you’re dressed in a new wardrobe. Every item of your new way of life is custom-made by the Creator, with his label on it. All the old fashions are now obsolete.” (Colossians 3:8-10 The Message Bible)
“It is obvious what kind of life develops out of trying to get your own way all the time: repetitive, loveless, cheap sex; a stinking accumulation of mental and emotional garbage; frenzied and joyless grabs for happiness; trinket gods; magic-show religion; paranoid loneliness; cutthroat competition; all-consuming-yet-never-satisfied wants; a brutal temper; an impotence to love or be loved; divided homes and divided lives; small-minded and lopsided pursuits; the vicious habit of depersonalizing everyone into a rival; uncontrolled and uncontrollable addictions; ugly parodies of community. I could go on.” (Galatians 5:19-21 The Message Bible)