Sometime last year, I stumbled at some bottles of fruit wine that had outlived their shelf life. About the same time, I also came across some supplements that suffered similar fate. I decided to do an experiment with the wine. I popped it open to pour the content away. The first glaring thing was that it had been decolourised. Though the supplements had not changed colour, I decided to throw them away too. Consuming expired food or medicinal items may have a placebo effect. In the worst case scenario, they become injurious to our health.
Just as we observed earlier that applying expired products will take a toll on one’s health, so will these old pattern of living affect our spiritual progress if they are allowed to linger.
What I did to those expired items is what God expects of us in dealing with our pre-conversion experiences. Our text calls it the old man known for corruption and deceitfulness. Paul was more explicit about the characteristics of the former life when he wrote to the Colossians. “But now you yourselves are to put off all these: anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy language out of your mouth. Do not lie to one another, since you have put off the old man with his deeds” Colossians 3:8-9 NKJV. For believers, anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy language, lying, and similar vices must become expired. Just as we observed earlier that applying expired products will take a toll on one’s health, so will these old pattern of living affect our spiritual progress if they are allowed to linger.
