Monday-Get Rid

Therefore, rid yourselves of all malice and all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander of every kind. Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, now that you have tasted that the Lord is good.

1 Peter 2:1-3[1]

When it comes to cancer, you only want one thing, to get rid of it. If at all possible, the goal is to remove it all. Not just some. Not just part. But all of it. There’s no room for error. Either it’s all gone, or it isn’t. Mary Ann and I had the same experience with cancer. There was a surgery to cut it all out. We had an experienced and skilled team of surgeons, doctors, nurses, and technicians. Everything was carefully planned and the procedures went off without a hitch. All indications were that they “got it all.”

We rejoiced at God’s kindness and praised his name to everyone we met. We thanked everyone involved with our surgeries. We both made great recoveries in the following days of rest at home.

And then came the great big cancer but. On our follow-up visits, the final test results came back and they didn’t get it all. They wanted to perform another procedure to go back in and take out more. They were calm and reassured us that this sometimes happens.

We both said OK and asked about when to schedule this additional procedure. Their answer shocked us. “Well, what about right now? There’s an open operating room that we can walk into and take care of this right now.” We looked at each other and couldn’t find a reason not to, so we said yes.

Even though it didn’t take all that long, it seemed like an eternity. Life seemed to be moving in slow motion. We couldn’t help but think, “Didn’t we just go through this? Why didn’t they get it all the first time? Why me?” But after it was all over, and the tests came in a few days later, it was worth it. All clear. Nothing left behind. No more cancer. We rejoiced again, but with greater joy because we had the final word that every trace of the tumor was gone. This time, we knew that we were whole and healed.

Peter’s telling his readers and us that we have our own surgery to perform. While it’s not the same as physical cancer, these five deadly diseases of the heart maybe even more deadly. Their impact, hurt, and harm are more devastating than any kind of cancer. But how do we do this? What can we do to once and for all rid ourselves of these things? How can we turn away from them and be done with them? What’s the secret of putting them into the trash and taking them to the curb? Here are five steps to walk through to rid ourselves of it.

• Identification. Don’t try to be gentle. Call it what it is: something that’s deeply hurtful and harmful to our relationship with God and the people around us. It’s something so destructive and deadly that Jesus had to come and die for us. Think about some of the consequences that have come up because of what was done or said. Be as specific as possible[2].

• Confession. With the power of God that he’s put into us, admit that it’s horrible and deadly. That it does nothing but separate us from God and people. That it’s been a selfish thing that we’ve continued to do because we liked it. Tell God that this caused him pain and that the only remedy was for him to send Jesus to pay for what we did[3].

• Termination. This is our once-and-for-all commitment to change the way we act, think, or feel. This might happen right after confession, or it might be a while later. This is not something to be taken lightly. When we want real change, we need to count the cost. It’s not going to be easy, but we need God’s strength and our serious determination to be different[4].

• Starvation. This is when we put a plan in place to cut off whatever is feeding the thing we’ve identified. It’s been around for a while and our habit is to keep feeding it. We need to start new habits to replace the old. We must replace what we’ve been watching, reading, and listening to with powerful and inspirational Godly things[5].

• Communication. We can’t be quiet about this. While telling one other person about our struggle is OK, being part of a small group is much better. While it’s going to be painful, be as specific as possible. Tell them about how you came to see this as a deadly problem. When you share your confession and termination, tell them that you’re asking for their help[6]

• Renunciation. Old habits never go away easily. They die very hard. They’re going to come back and try to infect you again and again. This is where we have to stand our ground. We can’t treat them or ourselves gently. Take it to God in worship, thanking God that Jesus paid for this and all our sins. Ask for his power to resist and keep fighting the good fight[7].

God will walk with you through these difficult days. There will be days that you just want to give up. Remember, greater is he that is in you than the one who’s in the world[8].

Noodling Questions

• How did you start the thing that troubles you so much right now? Explain.

• How can you use small victories and build them into a changed life?

• Do you really think it’s worth the time, pain, and trouble to change? Explain.

[1] Unless otherwise noted, all Bible references are from the New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

[2] Psalm 51:3

[3] Psalm 32:5

[4] 1 Corinthians 15:34

[5] Philippians 4:8,9

[6] James 5:16

[7] 1 Timothy 6:12

[8] 1 John 4:4