Look carefully how you walk
Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil.
LOOK CAREFULLY THEN HOW YOU WALK
How wonderful it would be if people saw something of Jesus in our everyday lives. Paul had this in his mind when he was writing this epistle, for he says in Eph 2:10 “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should WALK in them.” And again in Eph 4:1 he says, “I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to WALK in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called.” In this chapter he continues to use the word WALK. In Eph 5:2, he says, “And WALK in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us . . .” and again in Eph 5:8, “WALK as children of light.” And now in today’s text in Eph 5:15, “Look carefully then how you WALK . . .”
NOT AS UNWISE BUT AS WISE
WHAT IT MEANS TO WALK IN WISDOM | We will look at two definitions for Biblical Wisdom.
Definition #1 Biblical Wisdom is knowledge properly applied.
Biblical wisdom is to do with how we walk and not just how we think. To take what we know and apply it properly is to walk in wisdom. Some know much about marriage but their marriage breaks. Some know so much about the universe and yet they do not give glory to God who made it. The Pharisees knew a lot about the Old Testament, but when Jesus came, they did not apply that knowledge properly and so did not recognise Jesus. In 1 Cor 13, we see that even if people have many spiritual gifts but if they do not have love, it is useless. In 1 Cor 8:4-7, we read about food sacrificed to idols. Apparently, Christians in Corinth were eating food sacrificed to idols because they knew that idols were nothing. But they were being a stumbling block to other weaker believers who were getting drawn into idol worship because of their behaviour. It is one thing to know things and another thing to apply that knowledge properly. As reformed people, we know many things. But are we wise? Knowing about God’s sovereignty should not make us proud over those who do not know this the way we do. In fact we should be more humble. Reformed people are stereotyped as being sombre and serious, but the opposite should be true, we should be seen to be filled with joy, of all people. We should walk in wisdom, demonstrating humility and joy in keeping with our knowledge.
Definition #2 Biblical Wisdom is knowing what to do when there is no explicit commandment given.
The Bible does not give us explicit verses for every situation. The Bible tells us to work, but it does not tell us whether to be a doctor or teacher. The Bible tells us that Christians should marry Christians and also tells us that marriage is between one man and one woman, but it does not tell us which man or which woman to marry. Many things are like that. The Bible does not tell us what to eat and what to wear. But in all these decisions, we demonstrate whether we are wise or foolish. Walking in wisdom is to demonstrate biblical wisdom in everyday situations and in every mundane decision that we make. Scripture gives us direct commands about things that matter the most. But in other matters, scripture gives Principles, Priorities and Values in keeping with a holy God.
MAKING THE BEST USE OF THE TIME
Time management is one particular principle that the scripture gives us. Paul wants us to have a right view of time and practice the right use of time.
#1 Christian’s VIEW of time
We agree with the world that time is precious. But other than that, the Christian’s view is very different from that of the world. Christianity more than other faiths, has much interest in the concept of time. Where other faiths talk about timeless cycles and repetition of seasons, Christianity is a faith that talks about the progression of time. It is not just a set of rules, but it is a historical story with beginning, middle, and culmination. Gen 3:15 records for us God’s words to the serpent saying, “He shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise His heel,” and in these early words, we see the promise of redemption in Jesus who would go to the cross. Gal 4:4 speaks of the fulfilment, “But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law.” Christianity is a historic religion where God makes events to move in a particular direction so that all God’s people will be saved. And we look forward to a particular day when He will judge the world by this Man Jesus. As it says in Acts 17:31, “because he has fixed a day on which He will judge the world in righteousness by a Man whom He has appointed; and of this He has given assurance to all by raising Him from the dead.” On that day, those who are in Christ will be separated from those who are not in Christ and will be taken to live with Him for an eternity of time.
#2 Christian’s USE of time
One of the basic Christian concepts is that we will live for ever and that the way we live in this life on earth is very significant for how we will spend eternity. Every single day, we must learnt to live in the light of eternity. We should learn to look forward to our eternal home. Psalm 90:12 says, “Teach us to number our days that we may have a heart of wisdom”. Because time lasts for ever, we understand how important it is to USE THIS LIFE TO PREPARE FOR ETERNITY. The world is not using their time to prepare for what happens AFTER death. They are using it to prepare for what happens BEFORE death, which the bible calls foolishness. We see this in the parable of the Rich Fool in Luke 12:13-21. When the rich man was busy making his before-Death plans, God said, “Fool! This night your soul is required of you, and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?” What is true for the rich fool is true for us. One day we will die. Everything we have collected here will be lost. Investing in this life is foolishness in the light of eternity. We have to be wise for this life too, but to focus on this life over the next is foolishness. Why are we investing in the children’s finite lives. They too will die. Let us invest instead in their eternal inheritance, in teaching them about the gospel. Because we believe in eternity, we prepare for eternity, making every moment count. Teach us to number our days. According to James 4:14, our life is just a mist.
Because Christians look forward to an eternity of time, we need to understand that we can be much happier, GIVING AWAY OUR TIME. We have got plenty to spare. We can spend much time serving people. When we miss out on fun and opportunities, even during this lockdown, let us remember that it does not matter much. Even if our lives finished today, having missed all the potential opportunities of the future, what have we really lost? Nothing. We have an eternity ahead of us. This world’s thinking is very different. They think because time is valuable they have to use it to improve their lives in THIS world. How foolish! A good investor knows how to invest for maximum return. It is the same with life. To spend our days wisely, for maximum impact for the glory of God and the kingdom of God, we have to make wise use of the time. A good example of someone who used time well is Jonathan Edwards, a pastor in 1700s who spent many hours studying the word, raising his 11 children, and writing many books. He was known as America’s leading intellectual. In his teenage years, he wrote 70 resolutions of how he would lead his Christian life. Some of these resolutions were like this. Resolution #5: Never lose one moment of time; but seize the time to use it in the most profitable way I possibly can. Resolution #7: Never to do anything which I would be afraid to do if it were the last hour of my life. Resolution #9: To think much, on all occasions, about my own dying, and of the common things which are involved with and surround death.
BECAUSE THE DAYS ARE EVIL
We live at a time when there is tremendous darkness, and so we have tremendous opportunity our light to shine and make an impact. These are the days when the door is open for the gospel and the harvest is plentiful. One day the harvest will be finished, and there will be no more salvation. So we need to be careful how we walk. We have many temptations by way of time wasters. The smart phone is a time waster and TV is a time waster. It is true that there are times when we have to relax and recover. We should never let the evil days dictate to us and steal our time. TV is not relaxing. The purpose of TV is to stimulate, entertain, and be addictive. On the other hand, walking is relaxing, and so is talking with people about ordinary things. Praying is relaxing. Worship is restful.
If we had to look back on our life, what would we say? Would we chide ourselves saying, “You fool, you accumulated so much junk for yourself and wasted your time,” or would we say, “You tried to invest time well.” One thing we will never regret is investing time in the service of God.
Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil.