Anger Has Got to Go!

Hi Friends,

Anybody clean out a closet?  Take anything off?

My dear sweet husband told me that I had a closet full of special occasion dresses in the guest room.  I really thought that I had cleaned them out a few years ago, but he said the closet was full.  So I went to check it out.  Primarily, to confirm that I had in fact cleaned them out as I thought I had.  I found one dress.  One.  That is hardly a closet full!! But I did have to ask myself why I had gotten rid of all except that one.  It really is not all that and a bag of chips.  It's been so long that I don't even remember the special occasion that it was purchased for...guess it wasn't that special after all.  It is at least 20 years old.  It is a size 4.  I'm not.  And when I get to be a size 4 again, I will definitely want a new dress because it will be a special occasion.   Can I get a hallelujah high five from someone on that?!       

When we become followers of Christ, we are new creatures and old things have passed away (2 Corinthians 5:17).  And that is why we are instructed in Colossians 3:8 to rid ourselves of certain behaviors--to clean out the closet and take some things out of the wardrobe.  Are you holding onto anger?  Anger that you have been holding on to for so long that you really can't remember why--what the special occasion was that caused you to become angry.  Have you just let that anger sit around for twenty years or more?  The word anger is mentioned 266 times in the Bible, according to the search I did on my YouVersion app. I think God is serious about anger.  Here are a couple of my favorites:

"For as churning cream produces butter, and as twisting the nose produces blood, so stirring up anger produces strife."   
      Proverbs 30:33 (NIV)

"Refrain from anger and turn from wrath; do not fret--it leads only to evil."   
      Psalm 37:8 (NIV)
  
Strife and evil.  Who wants that?!  Anger is not doing you any good.  And when you think about it, it's probably like my size 4 red dress.  You really don't have a legitimate reason to hold on to it.  But you do, just because.  It's comfortable, you feel justified.  You've had it for so long, you just think you need to hold on to it.  My red dress is out of the closet and headed to Frisco Family Services.  Why not send your anger away? Pray and ask God to help you release the anger that you are holding. I have room in the closet and you'll have room in your heart.

The Red Dress

Love, Your BFF (Biblical Fashionista Friend)

I am not a Bible scholar and I am definitely not a fashionista.  But I love God's Word and I was struck by Colossians 3:8-14 (NIV84).

As believers we are chosen and loved by God. Therefore, we are commanded to have certain items in our wardrobe.  There are five must haves--compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience (verse 12).

Verse 14 tells us that "...over all these virtues put on love..."  Once we have put on our must haves, we have to accessorize with the go-to item of love.  My go-to item is a pair of silver hoop, but more about that later.

Before we build our wardrobe, we have to start by cleaning out the closet. UGH!  A hated task, but the end result is soooo good.  After all, before we put on, we have to get rid of the stuff that doesn't fit.   That means throw out those 15 bridesmaid dresses that don't fit and you aren't going to wear again no matter what you tell yourself and how much they cost.  The special occasion dresses that are not going to another special occasion, the skinny jeans that are not in fashion, but are just skinny because they are from high school...they all need to go! Some things just aren't worth holding onto and God tells us what those things are.  He wants us to take off anger, rage, malice, slander and filthy language (verse 8). When you really think about it, those things are ugly and even if you've held on to them for years, they just need to go!!

So, what is it that you really need to take off?

Love, Your BFF (Biblical Fashionista Friend)