Get the Dead Possum Out of the Garage

A couple of weeks ago my good friend Tom was teaching our adult small group, and he likened a life filled with hidden sin to a garage filled with junk. In his typical brand of dry witty humor, Tom talked about his own garage, how it was packed with work supplies, tackle boxes, etc. He even said there's a good possibility there's a dead possum in the corner.

What does a dead possum have to do with Part Two of 5 Things To Do Before Getting Out of Bed? Read on and find out.

Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry: Colossians 3:5 

Tom talked about how if you want to get the garage clean, you need to start pulling junk out. One of the points he brought up was that it's normal to feel shame and embarrassment over a messy garage - or over sin in our life. He said, "If I were to tell some of my friends about my garage, well, being my friends, they'd probably laugh, but they'd offer to come help me get it clean and organized."

He went on to use the "dead possum". If he really did have a dead possum in the corner, simply throwing a cardboard box over it wouldn't do anything. Sure, it might hide it from plain sight. But eventually the stench would permeate the garage, and people would know it was there. The only way to successfully deal with it is to remove it from the garage.

Which brings us to our second of five things - mortify the flesh. Or, Kill All The Things! The word mortify in Colossians 3:5 means to put to death, to subdue, to deprive of strength, to make weak. Paul says to apply this action to our members which are upon the earth. We need to subdue or take away the power of the flesh.

Think of a doctor going in to remove a cancerous growth, or a dentist drilling out a tooth with a cavity. The dead tissue or material must all be removed. Sometimes that means cutting into live tissue.

The list of sins that Paul tells us to mortify is pretty self explanatory -

• fornication
• uncleanness
• lust
• covetousness

This is a natural second step. First we got our focus on the One Who died for us, and living for eternity with Him. That should naturally move us to decide that we are not going to be entertained the things that He died to pay for.

Another good friend, Rich, pointed out this morning that this list is not terribly different from what God commanded Israel to do when they entered the Promised Land - make a priority to remove anything that was going to hinder their relationship with God.

So before you throw off the covers and stumble to the coffeemaker, get your focus on the One Who died for you and determine that you will not entertain yourself with the things He died for - count yourself dead to them.

Tomorrow we will talk about pajamas and how that relates to item number three of Five Things To Do Before Getting Out of Bed.