the mental brew which remains after anger and wrath have com pleted their task. In other words, it is the bitter dregs in the cup of life which become the stimulation for our poisonous thoughts about others. It is a strong desire and urging to "get even." The fourth thing is "blasphemy," both against man as well as Cod. A person may say, "Well, I never swear." But have you ever said anything malicious about someone else that was unnecessary? The Word of Cod says, "With the tongue therewith, bless we God, and therewith curse we men." The fifth thing to put off is "fil thy communication." Why do we wear the rags of criticism, fault finding and gossip? We need to repeat the Psalmist's prayer daily,, "Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be ac ceptable in Thy sight, O Lord, my strength and my Redeemer." Have you noticed on television how fre quently it is the double-meaning joke which draws the laughter and even applause of the crowd? The unfortunate thing is that filthy com munication finds its way out of the mouths of Christians who have be come ensnared in these insidious habits of the world. Finally, we must put off "lying" (vs. 9). How unfortunate that Paul, under the Spirit's inspiration, should have to remind believers to be done with things which are untruthful! How can such a life be reconciled to that of our Saviour who is all truth? A Sunday school teacher was making a visit to the home of a little boy in her class. She was con cerned for he seemed, at his young age, to be an inveterate liar. In as
gracious a way as possible, she tried to put the problem before the mother who was aghast, expressing astonishment that her son should have developed such a practice. The child in question was outside playing so the mother asked the daughter to call him in. The girl disappeared for a moment and then came back with the embarras sing announcement, "Johnny says he won't come in." The mother thought for a moment. Then, a bright idea hit her. "You just tell him that his aunt has come and brought him a box of candy. Then he will come in!" The parent had no idea where her son could have developed the sinful habit of lying! Make no mistake, however, he did not merely get it from his mother. The Word of God clearly tells us that as soon as a child is born he goes astray, speaking lies. We must diligently remove these things from our lives. In verse 10 of Colossians 3 we are reminded in a positive vein to "put on the new man which is renewed in knowledge after the image of Him that created him." It is interesting to realize that while the old nature perishes, yet the new man, or the new nature, is renewed day by day. It was Ponce de Leon who vainly searched for the perpetual fountain of youth. He never found it. Yet, in actuality, here in the Word of God we do have the "fountain of youth." Have you seen the magazine ad vertisements for men's hair color ing? You take one hand to cover the graying side of the head to see what the person would look life if his hair was all black. It is quite an interesting and effective experi ment. But here is something far bet-
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