“Un-Spoiled”

“Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ.” Colossians 2:8

If something spoils or becomes spoiled, it means that it has gone bad, or is unfit for use. It is ruined.

Probably the most common usage of the word spoil usually applies to food when it has gotten old. Milk, for example, becomes “sour” when it is not refridgerated and kept cold. The flavor turns into something not desireable, and needs to be poured out down a drain. The same with some fruits, especially bananas, which once they turn brown they become very soft and not as good for fresh eating. I guess you can still use them for baking certain things, but the point is that they are best to be eaten when they are firm and yellow. Unspoiled.

Since the word spoil means to be unfit for use, you could apply that to many other things other than food. I once left a sweat shirt outside and forgot where I had put it. Well, probably a couple months later I found it on the ground, damp and moldy, and the material had broken down enough so that with just a little bit of force it would tear rather easily. It had, in a way, become spoiled and unfit to wear.

We do not want ourselves to become “spoiled” when it comes to our faith. We do not want to become “unfit” for God’s use. And the way that someone could “spoil” their faith is to listen and believe the ways and teachings of the world over the teachings of Christ found in the Bible. 

When fruit or meat spoils, does it happen immediately? No, it starts and slowly spreads and gets worse with time. Similarily, the more time that a person allows themselves to listen to and believe things that are not in accordance with Christ’s teachings, over time they will “spoil” their faith, and their faith will become corrupted to the point where they lose their faith entirely. 

The world is full of information, where you can learn about things in school, you can learn about how to live or act, etc. But not all the things that the world teaches agrees with what God’s word teaches, and these are the things that we cannot allow ourselves to fall victim to.

“…after the tradition of men…” Tradition means “a part of culture that is passed down from person to person, or generation to generation.” Also, tradition is “a commonly held system or doctrine.” 

Do you or anyone you know have any “family traditions”? What is something that many people eat around Christmas time? Chocolates, cookies, cake, candies, all kinds of sweet things. In fact, I know many people who joke that they gain so much weight around Christmas time just because of all the things to eat, that they spend the next month trying to work it all off. It is that one time of the year that they allow themselves to eat all those extra calories, “because it’s the holidays.” Every year is that cycle. It is kind of a “tradition.”

Now I just used that as an example. But coming back to Christianity, what is something that has crept into many “churches” today, over the past two or three hundred years? The practice of allowing women to preach the word of God. 

Tell me, where in the Bible does it give provision to women to preach? The Bible clearly states that not only are women forbidden to teach (1 Timothy 2:12), but they are also commanded to “keep silence” in the church (1 Corinthians 14:34). Yet over the past few centuries it seems that many “churches” have either tried to ignore these commands, or have tried to twist them to try to mean something else. Like a single seed that sprouts, everything has a beginning, as did the allowance of women to speak and teach to others. 

Now look today at all of the places where this is happening. Lutherans, Methodists, Episcopalians, on and on the list goes. What happens to all of the little girls who grow up in this kind of place, being taught these things? They begin to believe that these things are the truth, instead of what is written by God’s apostles. Their faith can become “spoiled” at an early age. Make no mistake, the allowance of women to preach, teach, and speak in the church is a “tradition of men,” found no where in the Bible. 

I could go on and on over several different topics that do not have any foundation in the scriptures, but there is just one thing that you need to know: if it doesn’t agree with what the word of God says, then it is a teaching of the world, a tradition of men. 

Who, as Christians, do we follow? Who is the One who we look to for guidance and instruction? Jesus. It is Jesus who died for us, it is He who forgave us, and He who we need to serve and follow. Regardless of what other people think of us, Christians need to do what Christ wants us to do, and not what the world wants. If it goes against Christ, is has no place in a Christian’s life.

Just because “everyone else is doing it” doesn’t mean that it is right according to the scriptures. If everyone one day just decided to go and jump off of the edge of a cliff, would you do it? Everyone else does it, but would you do it? People could constantly pressure you, trying to convince you that you should do it, but would you? I would certainly hope not.

That is what has happened to some people today. They have allowed themselves to be deceived into believing things that are not true and accurate according to the word of God. Maybe they even read those verses that teach them what to do, but they have allowed themselves to become “spoiled” so that they don’t do the things that they should.

Be careful, so that you don’t become spoiled, and turned into something unfit for the kingdom of God. There is no place for the world in Heaven. 

Before I end, imagine the kingdom of Heaven as a giant table, all set with fine china plates and silverware. Beautiful. Set after set of just perfect place settings. And then in the middle of those is one setting with a dish with old, dried food clinging to it from a previous meal. That old, nasty plate represents the world, and all of the sin that comes with it. That plate needs to be removed from that table, because it does not belong there. It can be washed and cleansed, but until then, it cannot be on that table with the rest. It has no place there, as sin has no place in Heaven.

Keep yourselves clean and free from the sins of the world, and the traditions of it. No matter if the world says it is right, no matter if people dislike you, God and His teachings are always first. If the two don’t agree, always side with Christ.

“…and to keep himself unspotted from the world.” James 1:27

In Christ, 

Andrew