PUTTING ON THE NEW SELF (part 4 of 6)

COMMENT:
When Paul tells believers to “put on the new self”, 
he doesn’t ‘leave us hanging’ to try and figure out what that means.
With the Lord’s guidance, Paul is given the wisdom to list a few of 
the areas where we should focus as we make our transition to the ‘new self’.
This is the fourth of a six part series of brief devotionals the Lord has 
given me for guidance and for sharing with others who have a desire to 
become the new person He wants them to be.

SCRIPTURE:
“…and to put on the new self, 
created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.”
(Ephesians 4:24)

MEDITATION:
Whenever someone receives more recognition than we do, 
some people look for ways to ‘bring them down a notch’.
One of the popular ways of trying to lower their recognition 
is to tell others derogatory things (often untrue) 
about the person who is the target of their jealousy.

Jealousy, is the true motivation for ‘bad mouthing’ others, isn’t it?
We want everything to be about us, 
and when isn’t, we strike out in the worst ways.
Believe it or not, the things we find wrong in others 
are often the things we are guilty of doing ourselves.
I had a co-worker who was quick to point out whenever someone else 
was lying, but he was notorious for exaggerating the truth himself.

We can become very creative whenever we want to 
tear down someone else in our attempts to build ourselves up.
Have you ever heard someone say, “I really like (fill in the blank), but...”.
We know that many times whatever follows the word “but”, 
is not going to be something positive or uplifting about the other person.

The truth is, doing things to hurt others 
will never make us feel better about ourselves.
Conversely, saying and doing things to build up others 
will increase our self-esteem.

If Jesus wanted others to know the bad things about us, 
we know that He would have much to tell them, wouldn’t He?
But He is not 'all about Himself'.
Instead, Jesus wants to build us up, to help us increase our self-esteem, 
and show us how we can be more like Him.

In no way does this mean we become independent and no longer need the Lord.
A person strengthened by the Lord 
readily admits his or her dependency on the Lord.
Why? Because they have confidence in themselves 
and do not consider dependence on the Lord as a sign of weakness.

Rather than making efforts to point out the faults in us to others, Jesus 
prefers to focus on our good qualities and our potential for doing good things.
As He builds us up, we become more effective and productive for His kingdom.
If we truly want to be like Him, 
then we need to do the same things for others.

The next time you are about to tell someone something negative about 
another person, stop and think about the good qualities they possess.
Also, whenever someone is telling you bad things about someone else, rather 
than “piling on”, think of at least one good quality about that person.

Saying bad things about others is not expected of those 
who have ‘put on the new self’ as one who has been ‘created to be like God’.
Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, 
but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, 
that it may benefit those who listen. (Ephesians 4:29)

ACTION:
Pray,
“Heavenly Father forgive me for the times I have talked badly about others 
and help me to always look for the positives in others, and develop in me
the ability to say encouraging things to others in the future that are 
beneficial to them.”