(James 1:21 [HCSB]) Therefore, ridding yourselves of all moral filth and evil, humbly receive the implanted word, which is able to save you.

(Colossians 3:9-10 [HCSB])
Do not lie to one another, since you have put off the old self with its practices and have put on the new self. You are being renewed in knowledge according to the image of your Creator.

Every morning I get up and I put off my bed clothes, take a shower and put on my work clothes. I wouldn’t think of putting my work clothes on over my bed clothes. That wouldn’t work for me. I wouldn’t think of replacing part of bed clothes with part of my work clothes. So, I take off one set of clothes and replace it with another. In a similar way, both James and Paul talk about the transformation that we should expect as a replacement of one set of thoughts, words, and behaviors which have their origin and foundation in the world system with another set rooted and grounded in God’s Word.

When I would speak with youth groups about the dangers of hypocrisy, seeming to be good on the outside, but hiding sin on the inside, I would dress up in a nice double-breasted suit with a sharp tie and a handkerchief folded neatly in my pocket. What I was hiding was a shirt torn, tattered, and dirty. The collar was neat and the front part exposed to the audience was spotless, but only when I removed my coat did they see the “real” me. Because I was just talking and then, all of a sudden, took off my coat as if nothing was wrong, my display often caught them by surprise. I think it was a good way to illustrate the way we often deal with the problems in our lives. If we can just hide them from others and make ourselves presentable on the outside, we have done enough to solve the problem.

Some people think that they can replace a part of the old clothing (the old life) for the new, such as replacing some bad behaviors with good ones, and this indicates that they have successfully made the change. However, the switching of lives, just like the changing of clothes, is a package deal. We must change our ways of thinking, of speaking, and of acting. Nothing short of this total transformation will suffice. I can’t really say that I have changed my attire, if I haven’t included everything in the set; a torn shirt, mismatched socks, scuffed wingtips, missing belt or even a button, or lint-ridden suit can spoil the entire outfit.

Now, looking at the verse from James, I notice that it begins with “therefore,” and my homiletics professor always told us, “When you see a ‘therefore,’ you should always ask what it’s there for.”  The “therefore” harks back to the previous challenge to be “quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry.” We know that these are the responses God expects us to have to the trials, tests and temptations of life. We should not let anger overtake us because we cannot, in our anger, accomplish what God wants or respond the way He expects. We shouldn’t blame God for our problems or temptations. We know their source full well. We should not let our position in life excuse our behavior. We must trust that God is working in the situations, circumstances and difficulties of our lives to help us develop maturity. Therefore, we must “put aside” or “get rid of” those things that are holding us back from trusting and serving God.

“All moral filth” emphasizes the nastiness of sin. Often, the problem with seeking to overcome some sin is our cavalier attitude toward it. We may see a particular behavior, way of speaking, or mindset as unhealthy, wrong in God’s eyes, discouraged by others, or simply an inconvenience or problem. We dismiss it, as we would dismiss a tiny stain on our shirt, a small hole in our pants, a scuff mark on a shoe. It’s a slight imperfection that we must work around, that we must deal with, that we must put up with, that we can apologize for. But God wants us to see sin as disgusting, offensive, loathsome. Just as most of us would be embarrassed to attend a formal banquet in jeans and tee-shirt or in filthy, smelly clothing, we should be appalled by the sin in our lives, even the little ones that are barely noticeable.

“All evil” is literally the abounding of evil or overflowing of evil, “excessive evil.” The NIV translates it as “the evil that is so prevalent.” Now, we shouldn’t wait to be moved by evil after it reaches a certain level, as if a lot is bad but a little is okay. The idea that James is presenting is that we see evil in the world at every turn. It is common, it is prevalent, it is pervasive. It is so easy to think like the world, because we are confronted with that mindset everywhere we go. It is easy to get into bad habits of speaking to others, like gossip, slander, and backbiting, because we are faced with them constantly. It is easy to excuse bad behavior by reminding ourselves that this is the way everyone around us behaves. (If everyone decides to jump off a cliff, are you going to…you know, you’ve heard it before). We live in the midst of wickedness, perversion, and filth. That’s why it’s so important to develop a healthy, godly attitude toward sin: it is nasty, filthy, gross, despicable! We want to wipe it clean, wash it away, rid ourselves of its filth.

We can’t just get rid of sin; we must replace it with the Word. We must “humbly accept” the word planted in us. It’s so easy to read what God desires for us in His Word, and to think that maybe He is wrong and maybe we know better and maybe this time things will be different and He will see that we know best. We get cocky and decide that we have a better solution to our problems. We get to feeling rebellious, resenting Him telling us what to do. We compare what He says with what the “experts” are telling us and choose the response that seems “most reasonable” to us. If we will not humble ourselves to seek God, to listen to His voice, to follow His ways, we cannot receive His help. God’s Word can help us, if we let it “take root and grow” in our lives.

So do you see sin as the dirty, filthy, destructive thing it is?

Are you willing to forsake your way to follow God’s way?