“3 For you have spent enough time in the past doing what pagans choose to do – living in debauchery, lust, drunkenness, orgies, carousing and detestable idolatry.” NIV

The first present I bought Jilly for her 60th birthday was a bathroom weighing scale . Now lest you think me terribly unromantic, let me say two things in my defence:

  • This was not my only gift to my lovely wife. But, more importantly…
  • She asked for them!!

Of course, we are sharing it, and when I first weighed myself a week or two ago, my reaction was ‘Enough’. Without going into too much detail, I discovered I am quite a bit heavier than when I thought (Surely there is something wrong with those scales. I think I’ll send them back!!!!). Furthermore, last time I got weighed, I had put more weight on than I was comfortable with.

Now to be fair, I seem to still be in the acceptable zone for someone my height and age, but only just. So I have drawn a line in the sand. I have said to myself, ‘Enough’. That needle must not go any further to the right; I’d like to see it gradually coming down to the left. So, ‘Happy Birthday Jilly.’ It’s a wake up call for me.

In these opening verses of chapter 4, Peter is writing about the place of suffering in our growth towards holiness. Here, in verse 3, he says, in effect, ‘As you look at how you used to live in those pre-conversion days, you need to say ‘’enough’’.’ That may sum up part 1 of your life story, but it mustn’t describe part 2.

The Message reads: ‘’You’ve already put in your time in that God-ignorant way of life, partying night after night, a drunken and profligate life. Now it’s time to be done with it for good.’’

 Whenever you find one of those dirty, ugly, sinful critters crawling back out from the sewers of your old life, you should look it in the eye and say, ‘Enough!’ You might even find it helpful to say it out loud. Send it packing, back to where it came from. (Of course, that old way of life has more characteristics than are listed here. See, for example, Galatians 5: 19-21).

Somebody went home from church one Sunday, and he was asked, ‘What did the preacher talk about? ‘He spoke about sin, I think,’ was the reply. ‘And what did he say about it?’ ‘He was against it!’

So should I be; and so should you.

‘Enough.’

PRAYER: Lord, as I read the New Testament, time and again I hear the call to resist, to come out, to put off, to put to death. Help me to be militantly anti-sin, and profoundly dependent on you to live the life you want me to live.