People spend quite a lot of time worrying about how they present themselves to the outside world. Whether in dress, the avoidance over embarrassment, or even just the keeping up of appearances, people generally care a great deal what others think of them. Such instincts can be bad when used solely for self-aggrandizement, but those same instincts can be helpful for our pursuit of holiness. Paul, moving from the negative assessment in 3:5-11 of who we shouldn’t be, begins to tell us who we should be in Christ.
