“That you put off, concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts.”
What draw my eyes are the words “deceitful lusts.” So not only do I have to watch out for the obvious, big, powerful lusts; but I also have to worry about those “deceitful” sneaky lusts that aren’t so obvious, but do as much damage as if I gave in to those obvious lusts. Take video games for example, they are not inherently wrong (depending on what you play), but they can become an idol that absorbs all your time, energy and focus from which is supposed to be devoted to God. No one may notice what’s going on in the mind, but an unhealthy devotion on video games can be just as detrimental to spiritual life as to bitterness or sexual lust.
What’s amazing about this “old man” is that he can be ineffective for awhile, being suppressed by the Spirit, but then suddenly burst up like a cancer when he is fed with just a single lustful sin. Like how an alcoholic that has been clean for a couple years can reestablish that destructive addiction by just one sip of wine; some of my “former conducts” can erupt within me at just one passing of a sinful thought. Though this old man is appointed to die along with my flesh, he still lies down like a puddle of gasoline waiting for Satan to throw a match to ignite the flame of my “former conduct” that by the Spirit I’ve quelled, and have to now again.
Application: I need to be prayerfully careful about any Achilles’ heel that I might have. King Saul was said to be humble and generous but then got corrupted by pride which ended in his down fall as a king. I need be steadfast and not let the Enemy stumble me and revive the old man within me.
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