Don’t Leave Home Without It

Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have stripped off the old self with its practices and have clothed yourselves with the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge according to the image of its creator.
(Col. 3:9-10 NRSV)

When my friend Larry leaves home in the morning, he wants to soar. He’s concluded, unfortunately, that the Christian principles he teaches his children at home won’t work for him at work. If he doesn’t buy into a few chicken-scratching ethics to make a sale, Larry thinks his competition surely will. At the end of a workday, Larry locks up shop and hopes he has left his other self behind. His family would like to proffer a different opinion on whether he succeeds.

Son Jonathan plans to take over the business when Larry retires. Jonathan is daddy’s little boy, even when he lies to daddy. Jonathan says it is socially acceptable to lie to your parents, schoolteachers, or boss. This is even necessary because, like dear ol’ dad, Jonathan has bought into a bottom-line way of life.

The Bible recognizes both our human potential for duplicity and our need to choose a Christ-like destiny. We can stick to an old self-perception that scratches on the ground beneath us or pick a new self-perception that soars in heavenly places.

“You were taught to put away your former way of life, your old self, corrupt and deluded by its lusts, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to clothe yourselves with the new self, created according to the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness” (Eph. 4:22–24 NRSV). Unfortunately, some of us assume this new self applies only to our private and not our public lives. But a divided heart pays a price at home.

In an episode of The Andy Griffith Show, Sheriff Andy exaggerated the value of a cannon he was fixing to sell until he saw his son Opie imitate his deception. In the end, the sheriff was honest because he saw that a double-standard endangered his family. “Teach me your way, O LORD,” the psalmist says, “that I may walk in your truth; give me an undivided heart to revere your name” (Ps. 86:11 NRSV).

Another friend of mine, Randy, models the undivided heart. When he made an expensive error about motor specifications for a client, his first instinct was to blame the manufacturer. Randy’s old self wanted to protect his reputation as a “wunderkind of environmental systems.” His new self, however, took the responsibility for his mistake. Working by a single ethical standard at home and in the office, Randy can live and work with a clear conscience. His family appreciates his singleness of heart.

Listen to the difference the apostle Paul draws between old and new self-perceptions: “Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have stripped off the old self with its practices and have clothed yourselves with the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge according to the image of its creator” (Col. 3:9–10 NRSV).

When we go to work, leave the chickens in the barnyard. Our high calling lifts our sights to a creator that soars.

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