Wise or foolish--How Are You Living?

“Be very careful, then, how you live-- not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord's will is.” (Ephesians 5:15-17)

The command to all of us on today is to evaluate how we use our time and to evaluate what really matters in life.  In the evaluation of our life and how we live, we must be very careful of the choices and decisions we make daily.  They must be decisions based on the wisdom of God and not self.

When we were born, we were separated from God because of sin.  God's wisdom was absent from our lives and we were born blind to spiritual truths.  Therefore, prior to salvation all of us lived unwise.  Once we have come to the knowledge of truth through God's Word, the Spirit of God takes up residence in our hearts and minds to help us live a life of wisdom in Christ Jesus.                                                                       

If the Holy Spirit is living on the inside of you, the command today is to live as wise and not as unwise.  Live as one who has been born again, one who has been redeemed by the blood of Jesus and not as fools who do not know God.  Many people are wasting their time and their lives in unwise living.  They are living in a way that leads to eternal destruction with no thought of their eternal destination.  Life is a matter of time!  Sometimes it appears to pass by slowly and other times it appears to be moving very fast.

Let's look at how the bible describes life in James 4:14, “Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.”  And in Job 14:1 we are reminded that, “Man born of woman is of few days and full of trouble.”  Life is short! If you lived for 100 years, what are those years in comparison to the life that you will live in eternity?

Believe it or not, life is not about eating, drinking and having fun.  It is about knowing what the will of God is for our lives.  Apart from a relationship with Him, we will never know His will. Revelation of the scripture is hidden from the unbeliever.  The Apostle Paul declares, “For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.” (1 Corinthians 1:18) 

What did God have in mind for us when He created us?  We are given some help in answering this question in Revelation 4:11 where the Apostle John writes, “You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they were created and have their being.”

In other words, we were created for God's pleasure and His good will.  

Time is filled with rapid change and is moving very fast, and the days are evil, and so, we must make the best use of our time.  Walking wisely means knowing the will of God for your life and making every effort to accomplish that goal with Christ through faith, obedience to the Word, prayer, discipline, trust and godly living.  To live wise, we must see life as God sees it.  I urge you today to study God's Word.  The Bible is our guide for life and living as a Christian. 

Many are devoted to the things of this world.  When all is said and done the only thing that will be left standing is the Word of God.  Because life is short and none of us know the day of our departure, we cannot afford to be deceived by the pleasures of this world which are all temporary.  If caught off guard when death comes to meets us, who we are then will be who we are in eternity.

There is no repentance after death, and there is no conversion after the last breath is drawn.  Let the wisdom of God be your compass for life and living.  Wisdom says to seek the Word of God. A fools says seek the pleasures of the flesh and the world.  Make a decision today that you will not play the fool in disobedience to Christ.  Hear these words of the Apostle Paul as he spoke to the Galatians "who has bewitched you” into believing that there is another Gospel and you should not obey the truth of God's Word? (See Galatians 3:1)

Wise or foolish? How are you living?