Ephesians 4:22

You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires;
(NIV)

This is one of those verses that could be broken into more than one day. There is so much truth here that it is difficult to absorb it all. And it is practical truth, truth that you can use on a Monday morning or a Saturday night. Consider what it is saying.

First, if you are a child of God, as this passage is addressed to, there is an old self. There exists an old you, and you are to put it off, get rid of it. As we can see in other passages, this is a daily process, sometimes a moment by moment process. Even though salvation is a once and done process, this is not. The old self must be chipped away at constantly.

The difficult thing is that the old self is linked with those deceitful desires. These are those desires that tell you that you "must have it!" Sometimes these are those desires that are letting you know that you won't feel better until you get what you want. These are those lustful desires that can never be satisfied, yet are always telling you that if you give it, it will be so fulfilling. It is very difficult to put off that old self when it is telling you these lies.

But that is the old way, the old manner of life. You are a new creature. Christ is showing you a better way to live, through His Word.

Today, if there is a conflict between what you want and what God says, choose God. Chuck the old self.