None of these things

Put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and … be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and … put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness. (Ephesians 4:22–24)

 Throughout the New Testament, we read about the concept of “putting off” or removing aspects of our lives—both inner thoughts and feelings, and the resultant outward actions—which fight against Christlikeness.
 Meanwhile, we are to be “putting on” or adding to our lives those things which develop godliness. The idea of putting something off clearly calls for a decision to be made and action to be taken. The same holds true for putting something on.
 None of these things—whether putting on kindness, humility, patience, compassion, or putting away anger, malice, covetousness, evil desire—happens naturally. They are the fruit of a life transformed and empowered by the Holy Spirit as we follow what Scripture teaches, as we apply our faith to our life. They have to do with intentional spiritual growth, with the development of Christian character.
 Once one has put in the time and effort to train, to break old habits, and to build new ones, then “putting off” the negatives and “putting on” the positives becomes more natural, as we are gradually changed by the Holy Spirit. —Peter Amsterdam [1]

 God’s Holy Spirit is the wind, seeking to gradually move us toward Christlikeness. We are the sailors, needing to raise the sail; that is, to do something that puts us in the position to catch God’s Spirit, so that the Spirit will move us along toward the desired destination. —Michael A. Zigarelli

[1] Anchor Raising Our Sails