One thing that is widely recognized worldwide is how fleeting time is. This reality pushes us all to do something with our limited time here on earth. But, what it pushes each of us to is different. For some of us, it pushes us to luxurious vacations. We know we have one life, so we want to go and see as many places as possible. For some of us, it pushes us to parties. We know we have one life, so we want to party and have as many memories as possible. For some of us, it pushes us to work. We know we have one life, so we want to make as much money as possible so our family will be well cared for when we're gone. For some of us, it pushes us to stay home with our families. We know we have one life, so we want to make as many memories as possible with the ones we love the most.
We all know life is short, so we strive to steward the fleeting gift of time the best way we know how. But, one of the beauties of the gospel is that God transforms how we steward the fleeting gift of time. In our short life, we should strive to glorify God by walking in obedience to God's will. A central element of the Christian life is seeking to walk according to God's will every second of every day. As followers of Jesus, we lay down our wants, desires, and plans at the altar of God and say, "Let your will be done in my life."
In our passage today, it's as if Paul is saying, "Remember, before you came to know Christ, you wasted your time on pointless things. But, now that you've come to know Jesus, you can make your time count and spend your days on things that matter most." Put simpler, "You were dead, but Jesus made you alive. So go live like it!"
Let's dive in.
"[15] Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, [16] making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. [17] Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is."
Growing up, when I was looking for a lost item, my mother would say, "Don't man look." Man-looking would be when I walked into a room and casually looked around for a lost item. No effort would be put into my quest to identify the object I sought. I wouldn't pick anything up; the only thing I would move was my eyes as I searched my room.
Well, the first thing we find Paul saying in verse 15 is, "Look carefully then how you walk." The Greek word for "carefully" means to diligently and accurately search for something. It's the antithesis of man-looking. It's the same word used in Matthew 2:8 when Herod sent the wise men to Bethlehem to "go and search diligently for the child (Jesus), and when you have found him, bring me word that I too may come and worship him." So, this is a term of calculated and deliberate searching.
I believe the verbiage here teaches us that although we are a new creation in Christ, wisdom doesn't necessarily come naturally to us. We are not naturally wise. In fact, I could make a strong argument from the Scriptures that we are naturally unwise. Put a little more bluntly, we are naturally foolish. Proverbs teaches us that there's a way that seems right to a man, but it ends in death. So, if wisdom came naturally to us, there would be no need to carefully look at how we're living. There would be no need to search for wisdom. There would be no need to ask for wisdom. Wisdom is never portrayed in the Bible as something that we naturally possess. It's a gift given by God that comes through careful searching (through study and counsel) and devout prayer— "If anyone lacks wisdom, let him ask God who gives generously to all without reproach (Js. 1:3)."
Wisdom does not come naturally to us. Therefore, we never outgrow the need to evaluate how we're living. To walk in faithful obedience to Jesus, we must carefully consider how to walk in wisdom. It's good to open your Bible and prayerfully think about how you're living your life. It's good to think critically about the decisions you're making. It's good to carefully think about how you're managing your time. If we are going to live as wise followers of Jesus, we must survey how we're living our lives.
Now, what is wisdom?
Wisdom isn't simply intellectually knowing something; it's more of a skill. It's the skill of rightly applying information to action. Wisdom is the skill of understanding and implementing God's word in your life. It's the ability to skillfully and rightly navigate life in a God-honoring way. Wisdom is “skill in the art of Godly living.”
The Hebrew word for wisdom is "hakma," the same word used to describe two men, Bezalel and Oholiab, in Exodus 31. In Exodus 31, God told Moses that he called these two men, filled them with his spirit, and gave them the intelligence and ability (hakma) to be expert craftsmen to build the tabernacle— "See, I have called by name Bezalel the son of Uri, son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, 3 and I have filled him with the Spirit of God, with ability (hakma) and intelligence, with knowledge and all craftsmanship, 4 to devise artistic designs, to work in gold, silver, and bronze, 5 in cutting stones for setting, and in carving wood, to work in every craft."
So, God filled these men with skill (hakma), the artistic ability to create and build the tabernacle of God. So, wisdom is 'skill in the art of Godly living.' God gives us wisdom to become expert craftsmen on how to glorify God throughout our lives.
So, where the world says, "Live and learn." wisdom says, "Learn and live." Wisdom is available, so the gullible and naive can become crafty and cunning. Wisdom is available so that the young and innocent might find knowledge and discretion. The goal of wisdom is for us to walk through life and see, recognize, and then outfox the temptations that come our way. So, when the deceiver comes to lure us into sin, we can say, "No, thanks. I know where that leads." When your blood is boiling, and you want to lash out with your words, you can hold your tongue because you remember, "A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger." When your heart begins to race at the beauty of someone other than your spouse, you can run because you remember that "their feet go down to death." When you would rather sit at your desk and scroll through social media, you can put your phone down and begin to work because you remember that "an idle person will suffer hunger."
Faithful Christian living resides in a devotion to carefully living and walking in wisdom, not foolishness. As followers of Jesus, we are to be wise, not foolish. And as followers of Jesus, we are to steward our time well. We are to "Look carefully then how we walk not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time because the days are evil." We should make the best use of our time. When it comes to the 24 hours of our day, we should understand that all things may be permissible, but not all things will be beneficial. Therefore, wise believers seek to manage their time as best they can.
Now, there's an interesting wordplay here in verse 16. The phrase "making the best use of the time" is the Greek word "exagorazō." It means to redeem by payment of a price to recover from the power of another. It's the same word used by Paul in Galatians— "Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law (Gal 3:13, 4:5)."
Surprisingly, this word was often used in reference to the slave market. In this case, it was used to describe the purchase price of a slave. At times, you would find a friend or relative who would buy a slave back from captivity to set them free. They would redeem their friend from the possession of another so that they might be set free. So, in Galatians, Paul is saying that we have been liberated, set free from the curse of the law by Jesus. The inescapable condemnation and guilt holding us down by the law no longer own us because of what Jesus has done for us. Jesus has paid our ransom. He has paid the steep price for our sins. Death and damnation no longer own those who reside in Jesus. The one who knew no sin became sin so that we might become the righteousness of God. Jesus has redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us.
Well, in Ephesians 5, Paul is saying that those Christ has redeemed should now begin to redeem their time. The days are evil. They are a cruel master full of various labors, pressures, annoyances, and hardships. But now, we are to redeem our time from the captivity of the evil days. The evil days no longer bind us. We have been free from the various pressures this world throws us. We can now walk in wisdom and redeem our time back from the evil one.
But what does this practically look like for each of us?
Well, Paul intentionally leaves it somewhat vague here. How this practically plays out in our day-to-day lives will vary from person to person. But, the common ground for each of us is obedience to the will of God for the glory of God.
Paul says in Ephesians 5:17, "Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is." The word for "foolish" here In verse 17 differs from "unwise" in verse 15. It's a more offensive term. It's like Paul is saying, "Don't be stupid! Instead, understand what the will of the Lord is."
When we say "Will," we're not talking about the Fresh Prince of Belair. We're talking about God's purpose for our life and history. The will of the Lord is one of the most sought-after things for a young believer. We want to know, "What is God's will for my life?"
When we look at this word, I think it's two-fold. There's God's general will and his particular will.
God's general will is bound up in his purpose of blessing mankind through Christ. We see this word used in Ephesians 1 three different times to describe God's plan of redemption— "In love he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, which he lavished upon us in all wisdom and insight making known to us the mystery of his will, which he set forth in Christ as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth… In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will, so that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be to the praise of his glory."
So, it was God's will to adopt us as sons through Jesus Christ "to the praise of his glorious grace," his will to unite us to Himself in Christ, and his will to extend to us an inheritance "to the praise of his glory." If I could summarize this for you, it would be this: God's will for your life is for you to be joined to him in a glorious relationship through His Son.
So, what is God's will for your life? For you to intimately and personally know God as your Father.
God's will for your life is to save you. But, it's also to sanctify you. Paul, in Romans 12:2 says, "Be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect." In 1 Thessalonians 4:3, Paul says, "For this is the will of God, even your sanctification, that you should abstain from fornication." So, put simply, God's will for your life is to make you more like Jesus so that you can make much of Jesus.
But, many of us will lose sleep over what God's particular will is for our lives. Should I go to this school or that school? Should I take this job or that job? Should I date this person or that person? Should I move there or stay here? Should I play on this team or that team?
We're all faced with stressful decisions that must be made in this life, and this is where things get foggy for many of us. And I think this is where this week's passage offers us tremendous counsel and comfort.
For one, these verses remind us that it's ok (and honestly good) to struggle with these decisions. We are to look carefully at how we walk, not as unwise but as wise. The wise doesn't stress about the future, but the fool doesn't plan for the future. God, in his infinite grace, offers us wisdom and guidance. He doesn't leave us to walk through life alone. He invites us to ask for wisdom and promises to give us wisdom. God, in his infinite grace, has given us the Holy Spirit to lead and comfort us. God, in his infinite grace, has given us the Bible, filled with general principles to guide us. In his infinite grace, God has given us the church to walk through life with us, offering us wisdom and counsel that's in accord with God's word.
But, if God's general will is wrapped up in the redeeming work of Christ, then his particular will for your life is wrapped up in the redeeming work of Christ, as well. God's will for your life is for you to know, love, and follow Jesus so that you can glorify Jesus. Understanding the Lord's will for our lives means to pattern our lives after Jesus so that we might make much of Jesus.
So, are you making the best use of your time as a follower of Jesus?
Some of us may be workaholics, putting work above everything else in life. So, perhaps we need to make the best of our time by resting. For others of us, we may be slothful and lazy. So, perhaps we need to make the best of our time by working. Some of us have busy schedules, and we need to dial back. For others, we need to commit to more things. For some of us, making the best use of our time may be saying "no" more. For some of us, making the best use of our time may be saying "yes" more. But, at the end of the day, whatever we commit to, may it be done to the glory of the Lord with the hope of making much of Jesus.