No Longer Just Who I Am

May 10, 2021

Get rid of all bitterness, rage, anger, harsh words, and slander, as well as all types of evil behavior. Instead, be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you. Ephesians 4:31-32 NLT

You know him. You know her. The ones who give themselves a pass for the harsh words they speak or the hurtful things they do. They say things like this: “Hey, that’s just who I am. I’m Irish/German/Polish/red-haired/_____________ (you fill in the blank).”

Or “I’m just like my dad.”

Or “If you had been through what I’ve been through, you’d be shocked that I’m THIS good.”

Whatever shape the statement takes, it’s an attempt to blow off responsibility for less than good behavior and make it sound reasonable. Perhaps that can fly a little if the person isn’t a Jesus-follower, but it just can’t work if you are. If we claim to have a relationship with Jesus, we have clear directions on our responsibility for our words and behavior. Jesus spoke to it often in His human life and ministry. Then the early church leaders who personally knew Jesus wrote letters to the churches and people they were leading to help them understand how following Jesus must impact their behavior.

Bitterness, rage, anger, harsh words, slander, and all types of evil behavior are typical pre-Jesus scenarios. But after we have become a Jesus-follower, we are to “get rid” of those things. It is not a magic-wand transformation. We don’t put our faith in Christ and suddenly our default to wrong behaviors is gone. We must choose to ask the Holy Spirit, the Helper Jesus said He would send to be with us always, to fill us, and then daily walk in obedience to Him. He will be faithful to challenge you when you have been out of line. As you are obedient in your choices, the fruit of the Spirit will grow and develop in you.

The answer to the behaviors that Paul tells us in Ephesians 4:31-32 have no place in our lives as Jesus-followers is the fruit of the Spirit, KINDNESS. He tells us that as we choose to let kindness grow, and as we get rid of our former wrong choices, we will become tenderhearted and forgiving to others, just as Christ has forgiven us. When we truly follow Jesus, we change. We are no longer “just who I am,” and no longer who I used to be. We are grace-filled people who never forget how Jesus treats us with underserved and unreserved kindness, and it becomes our choice to treat others as He treats us.

  • Dear Jesus, as I am a new creation in You, help me choose kindness as my default; the same kindness You give me. Amen.