Week 2 - Colossians 3
It’s often said we live in an age of instant information. We have access to news 24 hours a day, from multiple sources—left, right, extremist, foreign press—and the list goes on and on. It is easy to be encompassed by political mindsets, social movements, or just the volume of media available to us.
It is not uncommon to hear someone say, “I’m going off of social media for a month” to detox our minds of all the clutter. Some think a media cleansing is unnecessary, but the apostle Paul admonishes us to do just that. “Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.” For advice that is almost 2000 years old, the appropriateness is uncanny. Separating ourselves from the unnecessary banter of the world can be freeing and rewarding on many levels, the least of which is more time.
Most people who give up media often do it to recover time for a new purpose. Some focus on spending more time with their families. Others choose to immerse themselves in a new hobby. Still, others might look for a period of spiritual renewal. Whatever their motivation, they are looking for a change, something to fill the void that social media once consumed. Habits are hard to break, and often, even after we “give up” a pattern of behavior, we fall right back into the same routine. It’s comfortable and familiar. And after a few months, the cycle repeats.
Paul encourages us to break that cycle. “Clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience.” While those attributes seem simple and abundant, when we look at our daily lives, sometimes they are missing. Compassionate hugs for our friends. Kind words when they are needed most. The humility of spirit to walk through the tough times with those you care about. Let’s use our time so that our closets may be filled with such things.
“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.”
—Colossians 3:12-14