Antidotes

Eph 5:3,4 "But fornication and all uncleanness or covetousness, let it not even be named among you, as is fitting for saints; neither filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor coarse jesting, which are not fitting, but rather giving of thanks." NKJV

Poison is not a good thing. Not long ago, Maddie got a hold of one of those Tide sticks that you use for stain removal and stuck it in her mouth. (Why do kids discover stuff with their tongues…weird.) Mich contacted poison control and they said that the contents of it were harmless…but it sure concerned her Grandpa. Had it been a harmful substance poison control would have told us to have her drink water, or milk, or syrup of ipecac or something to get it out of her system. I know that when a person takes in too much of a medication (Coumadin, heparin, Tylenol) an antidote needs to be given to counteract the poison…or else they could have serious physical damage or die.

That is what sin is like. We need an antidote. If we don't get this poison out of our lives, it will kill us. Jesus came and gave the ultimate antidote, His blood on the cross. This gets rid of the penalty of sin. But for some reason, we humans tend to be drawn to the junk that poisons us. Junk like sexual sin (fornication), lust or impure motives (uncleanness), wanting what others have (coveting), or obscenities (filthiness), or saying dumb stuff (foolish talking), or bad humor (coarse jesting). The poison seems to lure us and we get caught. Paul told the Ephesian church and he tells us…Don't. This stuff should not even be named among us. There should not even be a hint that this stuff is going on in the church.

How to avoid the poison? How do we get it out of our systems? What is the antidote? Giving thanks. Think about it, being thankful for my wife gets rid of fornication and lust. Being thankful for what God has given me gets rid of impure motives and coveting. And letting thankfulness come out of my mouth replaces obscenities, foolish talking and bad humor.

So the next time I am tempted to complain about a client, or cut someone down, or think improperly…give thanks. It works every time.