Are you sure?
This bookmark will be removed from all folders and any saved notes will be permanently removed.
The javelin, the greenhouse, and ethics lessons
Originally appeared on spirituality.com
The Bible talks about “putting off the old man” (Col. 3:9, 10, King James Version,) or getting rid of your “old way of life and its habits” (New International Readers Version). What a freeing concept! Who wants to carry around an old, outmoded self just because it seems easier than donning change? The past can be like a “ball and a chain,” as an old blues song by Janis Joplin puts it, and we often end up dragging it behind us like a child dragging their safety blanket around the house.
There came a time when I dropped “the old man” in favor of a more spiritualized life, or “the new man.” Moral and ethical ambiguities cleared up through my study of Christian Science. As I gained a higher, more spiritual concept of myself, a clean-living and honest approach to life took root in me. And I began to set things right.
When I was in high school and college, the baggage of “the old man” seemed very woven into who I was. I thought of myself as someone who did what was right, told the truth, and was responsible, but my sense of right and wrong somehow had morphed into an “it’s-no-big-deal” moral numbness. This especially pertained to how I treated others’ property.
Enjoy 1 free Sentinel article or audio program each month, including content from 1898 to today.
