Changing Clothes

There is a worldwide fascination with fashion. Magazines and papers tell us what the rich and famous wear and how much they cost. One Gucci and Chanel outfit can cost $100,000. The most expensive dress in the world is valued at $30 million. People make fashion statements with their wardrobes, and thousands of others try to imitate them. However, these earthly garments are not the most valuable clothes in the world.

The Apostle Paul talks to the Ephesians and us about their clothes, not the ones on their bodies, but the ones on their souls. In this passage, Paul tells us what we need to put off and what to put on. It is the Wardrobe of the Redeemed. The Apostle tells them before they knew Christ, their hearts were hard and dead toward God, and because of that, they “indulged kind of impurity, and they are full of greed” (Ephesians 4:17-19). This a chilling description of how ugly we can be without Christ.

Not everyone sinks to the depths of depravity mentioned here. Yet, this is a valid picture of our world in general. Ask yourself, how was it possible for the atrocities to have been committed against children and babies in Israel on Oct 7, 2023? All lives without Christ are dominated by sin. Today’s movies, video games, and internet porn confirm the same truths about our world: hardness—darkness—deadness all lead to unrestrained sinfulness.

Paul urges the Ephesians to “put off your old self” (Eph 4:22). Our growing up demands we “put away” some things while putting on others. Paul says the first obvious change is the attitude, “to be made new in the attitude of your minds” (Eph 4:23). Isn’t it amazing that attitude is the window into our soul. It tells the world how we think and view everything.

It is hard to put off old habits and attitudes because we have long had them. Many of them we grew up with and learned from our parents. But that doesn’t mean we have to live them our entire lives. We can change, and God is willing and able to help us. This is the work of the Spirit to help us change our clothes. We have to shed our old habits every day whenever they pop up. Many Christians stumble because they don’t do this daily. If we want to wear the Redeemed Wardrobe, we must shed the old and put on the new.

Here is an example of what that wardrobe looks like: “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control” Galatians 5:22-23).