Thinking wisely

So be careful how you live. Don’t live like fools, but like those who are wise. Make the most of every opportunity in these evil days. Don’t act thoughtlessly, but understand what the Lord wants you to do. Don’t be drunk with wine, because that will ruin your life. Instead, be filled with the Holy Spirit, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs among yourselves, and making music to the Lord in your hearts. And give thanks for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Ephesians 5:15-21

The world in which we live is filled with dangers and deceptions. It is not always easy to live an enlightened life even when we want to. We can get tripped up by the unexpected circumstances, events, and people. Things can change quickly without a warning and could pose danger. This is why we are admonished from the Scriptures to be very careful to live our life rooted in wisdom, using our time wisely. Not to do so would be foolish. It is God’s will that we live carefully, cautiously, always watching that our lifestyle matches that of our profession of faith. From the text, Paul is writing to the young churches in Ephesus. Ephesus was a center of pagan worship and ritual. The people of Ephesus offer their worship to Baccus; the god of wine and drunken orgies. They believed that in order for their god to hear them and provide guidance, they had to be drunk. Once they are drunk, they will be enlightened by their god.Paul was providing a great contrast between Baccus and the God Christians are serving. With the God of heaven, you do not get drunk with wine. Rather, you are filled with the Spirit. When a Christian is filled with God’s Spirit, this leads to godly living. Being drunk with wine would lead to the ruin of life (v. 18). By being filled with the Spirit, you can determine God’s will and serve Him faithfully. When you are filled by the Spirit, it means being directed, influenced, and ultimately governed by the Holy Spirit. In Colossians 3:16, the Colossian believers are instructed to let the word of Christ dwell in them richly. “Let the message about Christ, in all its richness, fill your lives. Teach and counsel each other with all the wisdom he gives. Sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs to God with thankful hearts.” Being filled with the Spirit and letting God’s word dwell in us produce the same results. This correlation suggests that God works His will through our lives by having the Spirit of God reminds us of God’s Word dwelling in our hearts. This is the promise Jesus Christ gave to His disciples when He was about to face His death on the cross. “When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own but will tell you what he has heard” (John 16:13). Being filled by the Spirit is not an option but a command that Christians must obey.

Blessings,