Larry Reynolds, Denton, TX

Colossians 3:5 - "Therefore consider the members of your earthly body as dead to immorality, impurity, passsion, evil desire, and greed, which amounts to idolatry."

This verse begins a paragraph which is built around two images. The words “consider…as dead” in verse 5 translate a word from which our word mortician comes. The phrases “since you laid aside the old self … and have put on the new…” in verse 9 refers to discarding dirty, soiled clothing and putting on clean clothing. Here some things we are to consider as dead and discard from our lives. The vices listed in this paragraph fall into four broad categories. The first two are:

1. Sins of the flesh (verse 6a) - While the words “immorality, impurity, passion, [and] evil desire” in the middle of v.5 have different nuances of meaning, each of them refers to sexual sins. Many of the recipients of this letter had come out of pagan backgrounds. Unbridled sexual expression was an accepted part of their pagan culture and was even incorporated into their religious practices. Paul points out that they needed to learn to express their sexuality within a Christian context. 
2. Sins of greed (verse 5b) - The word that is translated “greed” in v.5 of the NASB is the same word that is translated elsewhere in the Bible “covet” or “covetousness”. It is the Greek word “pleonexia” which is a compound word. The word “pleon” means “more” and “exo” means “to have.”  Literally, the word means “the desire to have more.” The Greeks said it was a desire which could not be satisfied. They compared it to taking a bowl with a large hole in the bottom and trying to fill that bowl with water. No matter how much water you pour in, it is never enough. The bowl never becomes full.  Verse 5 tells us this insatiable desire for more is “idolatry” which is the worst of all sins because it is allowing something other than God to be the god of our lives. When our desire to have is out of control, we not invariably end up worshiping and serving the creation rather than Creator. Jesus often warned about making material things the focus of our lives. He did not teach that material things are evil. Nor did He teach that it is wrong to have material things. But He did warn that it is impossible serve God and material things at same time.