“Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit, addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart, giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ” (Ephesians 5:15–20, ESV).

Recent articles on this blog spoke of the Christian’s calling to reflect the light of Jesus to the world and about how this lifestyle exposes the deeds of darkness. Paul’s discussion about exposing the deeds of darkness in Ephesians 5:6–14 is immediately followed by the above passage.

In the New American Standard Bible, the phrase “Look carefully then how you walk” is translated as “Therefore be careful how you walk.” A former pastor of mine would often say, “Whenever you see ‘therefore’ in the Bible, you need to figure out what it’s there for,” because it closely links the following passage with the one preceding it. Ephesians 5:6–14 tells us that we can expose the deeds of darkness by walking as children of light. Ephesians 5:15–20 gives us several priorities for walking in the light. The former passage tells us what happens when we reflect the light of Christ to a dark world; the latter tells us a few ways to accomplish this.

I will discuss two of these priorities in this post. A companion post will follow in a few days, discussing a few aspects of being filled with the Holy Spirit.

Paul’s first priority in this passage is to make wise use of the time and opportunities God gives us. “{Make} the best use of the time,” (some translations say “Redeem the time”) “because the days are evil.” Time is short. Evil and darkness surround us. The mature man or woman of God should be a wise steward of his or her time. We should give God the first fruits of our time, placing ministry in His name as a top priority in our lives. Readers who are interested in this subject can read a post that I shared several years ago.

Furthermore, we should make it a priority to seek the Lord’s will in every area of your life. “Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.” This should be a daily priority, acknowledging God’s authority over area of your life. Many are willing to acknowledge Him as Lord of our Sundays, and to commit to a time of prayer and Bible reading every day. However, Jesus is not merely Lord of the religious sphere of our lives; He is Lord of every area of our lives. He is as concerned about our careers, families, relationships, hobbies, leisure time, etc., as He is about what book of the Bible we are reading, how much time we spend in prayer, and which church we attend.

There are numerous ways to discern God’s will for your life, but the most important is the Bible. Too many people rely on other things—including their feelings and circumstances—to determine God’s will. The Bible will often tell us to do things that pull us out of our comfort zone, but that is largely because many of us are comfortable with sin.

The alternative to understanding the will of the Lord is foolishness. Proverbs 9:10 tells us that “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.” If we wish to be wise, not foolish, we will be eager to know the will of the Lord.

Walking in the light demands wisdom: Wise use of our time, resources and opportunities; and wise choices guided by clear discernment and obedience to God’s will. It does not always happen easily. We have to be committed to serving our Lord. We should also be filled, empowered, and guided by the Holy Spirit who dwells within us. This will be the focus of our next reflection.

Copyright © 2018 Michael E. Lynch. All rights reserved.