Daily Reading for Personal Growth, 40 Days with God

¹⁶ The Reality Is Christ.^[a] Therefore, do not allow anyone to pass judgment on you in regard to what you eat or drink, or about the observance of Festivals, New Moons, or Sabbaths.^{[b] 17} These are only a shadow of what is to come. The reality is Christ.

¹⁸ Do not allow yourself to be declared disqualified by those who revel in false humility and worship angels and visions, their vanity foolishly inflated by a human way of thinking. ¹⁹ They are not united with the head, from whom the whole body, supported and held together by its ligaments and sinews, achieves the growth that comes from God.

²⁰ Since you died with Christ to the elemental principles of this world, why are you living in the world as if you were subject to it? ²¹ “Do not handle!” “Do not taste!” “Do not touch!” ²² All this refers to things that perish as they are used. They are simply human commands and teachings. ²³ Rules of this type indeed appear to be wise in promoting self-imposed piety, false humility, and harsh treatment of the body, but they are of no value in combating the flesh.