Jane Wyman was mortified - Exploring the ultimate conspiracy

Have you ever been mortified? I mean really embarrassed by something you did or someone else did to you? President Ronald Reagan’s former wife Jane Wyman knew exactly what this experience felt like. Consider her story …

The most embarrassing moment in the life of Jane Wyman happened when she was entertaining very special guests. After looking over all the arrangements carefully, she wrote a note to her husband and put it on the guest towels. The note read, “If you use these, I will murder you.”

Over the course of the day with all her preparations, she forgot to remove the note. After the guests departed, the towels were discovered still in perfect order, as well as the note itself. According to Jane Wyman, this was her most embarrassing moment. She was mortified!

To mortify means many things depending upon the context. It could mean:

to humiliate or cause to feel shame, or
to undergo tissue death or become gangrenous, or
in the biblical sense it could mean something else entirely

Colossians 3:5 talks about option #3 where it reads …

“Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry” (Colossians 3:5)

A. Definition

Jane Wyman was mortified, but as previously noted, the word “mortify” carries with it various meanings depending on how it is used. The biblical word “mortify” here in verse 5 means to make dead, to put to death, slay.

Now on the surface, this seems most strange. God is a living God, and He sent Jesus into this world to offer eternal life. So much life and living to do as a Christian and yet, the command to kill parts of one’s body. Perhaps there is more to this we don’t understand yet?

B. Direction

“your members which are upon the earth”

God understands that we cannot be seeking and setting our affections on things above while we are tangled up in the messes down here on earth. If we are to benefit in our mortal lives as Christians, we must make a choice where our minds will be focused. And no, you cannot choose both (according to God, it’s one or the other)

So, are we going to focus on Heaven through God’s Word, OR are we going to follow the natural urges of our bodies and get involved in the earthly things that so readily tempt us?

What earthly temptations you may ask? Well in case you didn’t know, God spells them out for us in Colossians 3:5.

C. Distractions

Fornication = any sex outside of a male/female marriage
Uncleanness = Impure motives
Inordinate affection = depraved and vile passions of the mind
Evil concupiscence = wicked desires for things that are forbidden
Covetousness = a greedy desire to have more to the point of worshipping them

God commands us to once and for all kill these appendages to our lives and yes, we are to view them as being parts of our physical bodies. Now that is a major work! Jane Wyman may have been mortified, but we must actively kill the things in our life that the flesh demands that we do.

D. Deeds

Over the years Christians have gotten out the gospel message that salvation is not of works but through faith. Unfortunately, the “no works” policy has spilled over into other avenues of the Christian’s life. Salvations is without any of our own works but that is where it ends.

God has given to the Christian the Bible and the Holy Spirit in order to be directed and empowered to do many mighty works. Perhaps the greatest of all is the work we must put forth into dying to oneself or as Col. 3:5 puts it, “mortifying one’s members”

Do not be confused and do not be discouraged! Instead, get actively involved with extinguishing the members of yourself that are pulling you away from God and toward the things of this earth. Like any warrior, we must constantly train and be on our vigilant watch

So what?

Before our salvation, we had no choice but to live for the things of this world. Our souls were not redeemed, and we had no Holy Spirit to empower us. But now the child of God no longer lives in that realm. Unfortunately, until the body is destroyed upon physical death and entrance into Heaven, we can still be influenced by the things of the world. So, for now, we focus on things above and fight off the things below.

Jane Wyman may have been mortified by unused hand towels but that seems greatly trivial compared to the task set before the Christian in mortifying his own members.

Care to comment on this?

Until the next post, keep searching the DIVINE SCHEME!

Regards,
Mike MacDonald

mike@divinescheme.com

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