Clothed in Care

Goat Game

James 4:1–2 CSB

1 What is the source of wars and fights among you? Don’t they come from your passions that wage war within you? 2 You desire and do not have. You murder and covet and cannot obtain. You fight and wage war. You do not have because you do not ask.

Our game was a good picture of this wasn’t it.

You wanted the seat so you could win the game and in the process of trying to get the seat, chaos ensued.

This was a game, but how often in life do let our desire for something drive us to pursue it at any cost?

At the core of disunity is selfishness.

Each of us fighting for what we want, against everyone else doing the same.

And when this happens is when we see chaos happening.

So how do we overcome chaos? Let’s look at Colossians 3:12-17 for our answers.

Colossians 3:12–17 CSB

12 Therefore, as God’s chosen ones, holy and dearly loved, put on compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience, 13 bearing with one another and forgiving one another if anyone has a grievance against another. Just as the Lord has forgiven you, so you are also to forgive. 14 Above all, put on love, which is the perfect bond of unity. 15 And let the peace of Christ, to which you were also called in one body, rule your hearts. And be thankful. 16 Let the word of Christ dwell richly among you, in all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another through psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts. 17 And whatever you do, in word or in deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

The first thing Paul teaches us in this passage is We have to know who we are.

We find our identity in lots of different things do we. What are some things you find your identity in?

Sports, clothing, possessions, people liking you, relationships, family, grades and academics.

If someone asks you to describe yourself, those are the things you would likely mention, but those are the things you often have to fight for in order to get or keep. They depend on you.

Paul says those who know Jesus can take on the identity as Chosen, Holy, and dearly Loved.

Your identity doesn’t have to be dependent on your performance. You are valuable because you were created by God and because God chose you, not because you wore the right clothes, hung with the right people, or played a good game.

It’s often when we’re most insecure that we treat others the worst.

Paul then says knowing our identity changes the way we treat others.

He says “put on”, like a pair of pants, compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience.

Our clothes are a really important part of the way we present ourselves to the world.

Whether you care about fashion or not, we all know that the clothes we wear will send a message to other people—about who we are, what we care about, and the things we like to do.

But our clothes aren’t just superficial choices we make for other people, they are usually really important parts of how we see ourselves.

When you get dressed in the morning, you aren’t just deciding how to present yourself to the world, you’re usually picking things that reflect who you really are.

It’s hard to separate those two things—our clothes reflect our own idea of who we are, and they also communicate that idea to other people.

Paul’s command in verse 12 has the same kind of idea: God’s people are supposed to “clothe” themselves with “compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.”

These attributes are things that are supposed to define us and show other people who we are.

And they allow us to take a posture of service, the ways Paul outlines in the next 2 verses.

Carrying each other’s burdens, forgiving one another, loving one another

The last thing Paul tells us is how we keep these things going. How we keep our hearts from chaos.

Peace in our hearts

Word in our minds

The glory as our goal