Appropriately Clothed

Instead, clothe yourself with the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ. And don’t let yourself think about ways to indulge your evil desires. (Romans 13:14)

Don't let yourself think about ways to indulge your evil desires. If you recall, an earlier post defined evil as that which opposes God's will or his holy nature. There are small things we likely 'indulge' ourselves in or with that really don't strike us as 'evil', but if they are against God's will for us, or in opposition to his holy nature, then the indulgence is perhaps not the best thing for us to be pursuing. Man needs no encouragement to sin - it is in our nature. We do need a whole lot of encouragement to live above evil, continually moving away from evil desires, don't we?

How is this accomplished? Clothe yourself with the presence of Jesus. That may seem a bit too 'simple' or superficial to some but hear me out on this one. If we make Jesus the 'true center' of our lives, then we are less likely to 'crave' or 'desire' things that are in opposition to his nature in pursuit of things that are quite 'natural' to ours. When one covers themselves with clothing, is it meant to just 'be there'? No, it is a covering for protection. In the same way, when we immerse ourselves in the presence of Christ, we find ourselves 'covered' and 'protected' from evil desires that would want us to indulge them.

As scripture aptly points out, we are to put on the full armor of Christ each and every day. One piece missing is kind of like being dressed without underwear! We may look okay on the outside, but the most 'fragile' places of our lives are just being rubbed raw by sin and compromise! We need to be fully immersed in his presence. That may mean we take time to read his Word, pray, and even listen to some worship music as we do. It also means we take his presence with us throughout the day - learning to recognize when we just need a moment to 'refresh' ourselves in his presence. 

The more we learn to be 'appropriate clothed' for our day, the less we will be inclined toward indulging our evil desires. Why? Our 'natural desires' don't abide well in his presence and when they creep in as they usually do, we will not want to give into them because we have learned it to lean into his presence when those desires creep up. Just sayin!