Sometimes it’s good to take stock of our lives, to prayerfully look at ourselves with courageous honesty.
Put away from you all bitterness and wrath and anger and wrangling and slander, together with all malice, and be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ has forgiven you.
Sometimes it’s good to take stock of our lives, to prayerfully look at ourselves with courageous honesty. Ephesians 4:31 can help us to do this. This verse encourages us to see if we have within ourselves any bitterness, wrath, anger, wrangling, slander, or malice. May God help us see ourselves truly so that he might help us to be free from anything that would keep us from becoming more like Christ.
There are times when we need to take stock of our lives. Perhaps we’re facing a job transition or a challenging relationship. Perhaps we’ve done something that has brought negative consequences. Perhaps we’ve attended a memorial service and have begun thinking about the measure of our own lives. In these and so many other contexts, we stop to reflect on our lives, to pay attention to how we’re living, to be honest with ourselves about the good and the bad.
Ephesians 4:31 invites us to take stock of our lives in this way. This verse lists five specific attitudes or behaviors that we should put away, concluding with a blanket statement about putting away “all malice.” Even the relatively short list of wrongs in verse 31 can help us see ourselves more clearly so that we might live more fully as new people in Christ.
My suggestion is that you take the list of wrongs in Ephesians 4:31 and use it as a magnifying glass to examine your life. Ask the Holy Spirit to show you things you need to see. If you recognize one of these shortcomings in yourself, take time to confess it to the Lord and to seek forgiveness. Then, ask the Lord if there is anything you need to do differently or any amends you need to make.
I used Ephesians 4:31 to prayerfully examine my life. Without going into embarrassing detail, I can see where a root of bitterness might be growing in me. (The phrase “root of bitterness” comes from Hebrews 12:15, by the way.) It’s just a small root right now. No big plant or sour fruit. But I have acknowledged it to myself and to the Lord, asking for God to pluck it up. I will also be attentive in the future to signs that this root is still there and growing.
So, now it’s your turn.
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