Dress for Success

Colossians 3:5-14

Over 30 years ago the first edition of a book called Dress for Success was published. It was an interesting book, and sold very well. In fact, it is still available, although in a new and updated edition. The premise for the book was that what you wear has an impact on whether you succeed. And in the business world, which was the target for the book, this is certainly true.

But in general, it is true that clothes do make a difference. They make a difference in how others perceive us. They even make a difference in how we feel about ourselves. People who are depressed often let their appearance go. People who feel good about themselves want to look as good as they feel.

Of course, there are certain occasions and circumstances that require a more formal dress. On a news special the other night in which Tom Brokaw spent a day in the White House with President Bush, it was revealed that President Bush requires a coat and tie to be worn in the Oval Office out of respect for that special place. Everyone has a certain sense of what is appropriate in a particular situation. We all have our own understanding of a dress code.

In our text today, the apostle Paul uses this idea of dress to emphasize how we are to live as Christians, in light of what God has done for us in Christ. He links the idea of clothing to certain attitudes and behaviors, and he reminds us that certain things don’t go together. If we’re going to be successful in living the Christian life, then we need to know what to take off and what to put on. We need to learn how to clothe ourselves in those attitudes and behaviors that will make us successful.

Just as a jogging suit may be appropriate for an afternoon workout but horribly inappropriate for a visit to the Oval Office, so the old habit patterns and attitudes of the past that once served us well are no longer in style for our new way of life. In fact, they are not just out of style; they are now dangerous and deadly. Some valuable instruction is needed. And that is precisely just what we have here. In our text today, Paul defines what we need as essential and appropriate Christian attire. We see here that, to dress for success in the Christian life...

Christianity is not just a philosophy about life; it is a way of life. If we are going to call ourselves Christians, we must show the world not only what we believe but also how we behave. We must model Christian attitudes and actions.

Certain attitudes and actions must be put off and others put on. Those attitudes and actions that are destructive and counterproductive to the Christian life must be taken off. These are the ways of our past non-Christian life. These are the ways in which you used to walk and that characterized the life you once lived. Now that you have come to Christ, the old has been replaced by the new, and the old, when it seeks to reassert itself, must be dealt with in a very decisive way.

In fact, Paul uses some very ruthless language in describing exactly how we are to handle these old destructive ways of thinking and living. He tells us that they are to be put to death. In other words, these things are so dangerous to our current walk with Christ that they must be destroyed.

What are these old habit patterns? What are these old attitudes? In our text today, Paul gives us two lists. They are certainly not exhaustive lists of sins. He is not trying to list every conceivable harmful behavior or attitude. In looking at them, however, it becomes apparent that there is a certain commonality in each list. The first list I want to call sins of counterfeit love. The second list I would like to call sins of selfish pride.

Let’s look first at what I call sins of counterfeit love. I call it that because I see in this list the kinds of behavior that characterize people who are looking for love in all the wrong places. These are behaviors that substitute for real love in many people’s lives.

The first thing he mentions is sexual immorality. The word here in the Greek is porneia. You will, of course, recognize that this word is the basis for our word pornography, which itself is a combination word that means a picture (lit. writing) about sexual acts. What is in view here is any sexual activity outside of marriage. Its meaning is broad enough to cover anything that falls outside of that context. For Christians, the only proper context for sex is within marriage.

Impurity is next on the list. The word in Greek is akatharsia, from which our word catharsis is derived. Catharsis means cleansing, but here it is in the negative, implying a dirty, or filthy, or unclean attitude of heart.

The next item on the list is lust, which is a translation of the Greek pathos, meaning passion. In this context, it means sexual passion or desire that is selfish and self-centered. That is what lust is. It is a selfish desire to possess for oneself without regard for the welfare of the other party.

On the heels of this follows greed. The word in the Greek translated here is a combination word that literally means, "to have more." And that is really what greed is–– a desire to have more. It really doesn’t matter how much you have either. Poor and rich alike can be greedy. And the problem with greed is that it consumes you.

It is interesting in our text that greed is equated with idolatry. The message here is that idolatry is wanting anything more than God. This is the end result of greed. And greed leads to idolatry because it substitutes things for God. When anything takes the place of God, it is idolatry. You see, God does not want simply a place in our life, even an important place. He wants first place. He does not want to be a priority. He wants to be the priority. He does not want prominence. He wants preeminence.

Now let’s turn our attention to what I call sins of selfish pride. If you look at the list of these sins, you see that the common thread running throughout is self-centeredness. The reason why we behave in the ways described is because we see ourselves with an over exaggerated sense of self-importance.

Anger leads this list. The idea expressed here is of a deep bitterness of heart. This is an anger that has taken root within our very being. This is a description of the inner emotional state of the individual. You would say, "This is an angry person."

The second on the list is rage. It seems to me that rage is the result of being an angry person. Here rage describes the outburst of anger, the explosion of anger. And all of us have had to contend with both anger and rage at one time or another in our lives. In fact, you may have had to contend with one or the other of these this past week.

The next sin of selfish pride mentioned is malice. Here we are talking about an inner attitude. Malice can be defined as an evil intent to do harm to another person. It is a hateful and vindictive attitude that not only wants to get even but also wants to injure and hurt.

Slander is next. In the Greek, the word used here is blasphemia. Of course, you recognize it has the word blaspheme. When it is used regarding God, it is translated in this literal sense. When it is used regarding what we say about another person, it is translated as slander. It simply means to speak evil of, or to demean.

We’re also exhorted not to allow filthy language. The literal translation from the Greek is "abuse out of your mouth." What is in view here is not so much cursing as a foul-mouthed abuse of another person. Of course, it is better not to speak any words that are filthy or foul. The Scriptures teach us that we will give an account for every word that we speak. That is the sobering reality that should keep us aware of what we say. We should be speaking words that are positive, not negative–– words that build up, not words that destroy and tear down.

Finally, we are told, "Do not lie to each other...." Again, this is a behavior that has to do with a relationship. When we lie to someone else, we are disrespecting them. In other words, we don’t have enough respect for them to tell them the truth.

All of these sins we have just mentioned have to do with our relationships with other people. The reason why we engage in these destructive behaviors is because we have a selfish pride that tells us we are more important than others. Who do they think they are? Don’t they know who I am? These are not questions the truly humble would ask. These are questions for the arrogant, prideful person with an exaggerated opinion of himself.

We are told that these are the behaviors in which we used to walk. These behaviors are a part of our old way of life. They’re not characteristic of the new life in Christ we have been given. We need to put these off like a set of old dirty clothes. In fact, we need to starve these behaviors. We need to destroy them. We need to kill them outright. They have no place in the Christian’s life. They were a part of the old you. They have no part in the new you.

Notice that our text says that you and I have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator. We are being conformed into the image of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior. We are being changed from the inside out. And our text indicates that this change comes to everyone who comes to Christ, regardless of his or her race, religious background, or station in life. Christ is all. And Christ is in all who are a part of his family.

Just as there are some things that you must put off, so there are some things that you must put on. Our Lord did not leave us with a vacuum. He always replaces what he takes away with something even better.

Before we look at what we put on, however, look at how we are described in our text. We are called God’s chosen people. Often, people mistakenly believe that salvation is their act–– that because of their own choice, God saves them. But here we see the truth that before any of our choosing, God has already chosen us. He loved us before we loved him and chose us before the foundation of the world. How does it make you feel to know that he chose you?

We are also called holy. When God received us to himself through Christ, he declared us holy. We are holy because we have been set apart for him, because we belong to him. And now the challenge for us is to live up to who we are in Christ. We are challenged to live a holy life, because we have been declared holy.

And finally, we are called dearly loved. The reason that Jesus came to this earth was because of the love of God. It was because God so loved, that he sent Jesus. We are the objects of God’s love. But God doesn’t just love humanity in general. He loves you in particular. God dearly loves you! How does that make you feel?

Now let’s turn our attention to what we are to put on. The first thing mentioned is compassion. This is a heartfelt concern for others. It reflects the capacity to enter into their particular situation and feel genuine concern.

But not only should compassion characterize you as a believer, so should kindness. To be kind is the opposite of being harsh. It is the capacity to show grace in a loving way.

This is followed up with humility. A humble person is not a prideful person. Indeed, humility is the opposite of pride. The prideful person is in love with himself and thinks that he is better than anyone else. The humble person has a right view of himself and sees that he is no better than anyone else. He may be better off, but he is no better. Our demeanor should reflect humility.

And then there is gentleness. I have heard gentleness described as a willingness to suffer injury rather than inflicting it. A gentle person is concerned for the suffering of the other person. A gentle person is not soft but has a soft touch in dealing with people.

Patience comes next. We are generally not a very patient people–– especially here in the Northeast. We are always in a hurry. We are busy. We are late. And we have little tolerance for people who slow us down. As Christians, however, patience is an essential character trait. We desperately need patience because we are dealing with people.

As a matter of fact, if we do not have patience we cannot do what he calls us to do next. We are told that we must bear with each other and forgive. Without patience we will certainly never bear with each other. We will end up losing our temper and saying things we will regret later. And we will certainly not forgive. But we are called to do both. In fact, we are told to forgive as the Lord forgave you. And how did he do that? He forgave us when we deserved his wrath, when we didn’t deserve forgiveness. And that is how we are to forgive one another.

The key to all of this is mentioned next. Over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity. The key to everything is love. Having the kind of love God has will be essential. It alone will empower us to treat other people in the ways we have been discussing. Love is the chief virtue of the new life we have in Christ.

This is how we dress for success. We put off the old and put on the new. And this process continues our entire Christian life. Someone has compared it to the way we walk. In order to walk, we first take one step and then we take another. Then we do it again, and again, and again. As we walk with Christ, we will find ourselves putting off the old and putting on the new until Jesus comes and we are perfected in holiness as we are received into eternal glory. There we will be clothed in robes of righteousness as we receive our eternal reward. That will be true success! 

Copyright © 2002 J. David Hoke. This data file is the sole property of the copyright holder and may be copied only in its entirety for circulation freely without charge. All copies of this data file must contain the above copyright notice.

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