so good to be bad

Col. 3:5 (NLT)
So put to death the sinful, earthly things lurking within you. Have nothing to do with sexual sin, impurity, lust, and shameful desires. Don't be greedy for the good things of this life, for that is idolatry.

Why does every actor want to play the role of a bad guy? They don’t want to be typecast that way but read any interview of an actor known for being a hero or good guy and they relish the evil role. Tom Cruise in Collateral comes to mind. Why is it so good to play bad?

I don’t know but when you read Paul’s list of sin here it starts getting stuffy in the room. In the King James version it even sounds “naughty.” especially “evil concupiscence.” Evil concupiscence? Gotta’ get me some of that tonight!

No, I don’t think so. “concupiscence” literally means getting a “rush,” as in breath. Evil concupiscence means just being consumed by your passion for something evil. Paul is talking about how good it feels to be bad.

At least humanity has evolved enough where these sexual and bodily obsessions no longer are a problem…

I don’t think so.

These passions for the wrong stuff have been devouring us since Adam. Modern humanity may think of our being sophisticated but to tell you the truth, our bodies ache with the desire to be the bad guy. Obsessions. In the language of the Bible, Paul is saying literally, “Put to death your body parts.”

But we can’t go back to the days of beating ourselves with thorn branches like the monks of old. Sleeping naked on the cold stone floor in the middle of winter like Luther in the monastery. It might help for the moment, but the body part that gets in the way the most is not just our body at all. It is our mind. Our thought life.

Here is a test for those “sinful, earthly things lurking within you.” Imagine videotaping your thought life for a day and then playing it back for your mother. Ouch!!

Now, realize Jesus sees that tape every day.

What are we going to do? Paul is not finished, yet. He has another list.