Sharpened Together - Week 22

Ephesians 5:15-20 (ESV)
“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,”

Most of us don’t wake up in the morning and carefully decide how we’re going to live that day. We have just started. Check our phone, think about work or uni, rush through breakfast, and before we know it, the day is gone. But in Ephesians 5, Paul challenges us to live differently. He says, “Look carefully then how you walk.” Paul is challenging us to pay attention, be intentional, and question ourselves.

There are so many things vying for our attention. Work, family, study, social media, Netflix, sport, parties, problems, sickness. None of those things is necessarily bad or avoidable, but they can easily become distractions. Satan doesn’t need to convince us to abandon God completely; all he needs to do is distract us to reduce our impact.

Paul doesn’t leave us here, he challenges us instead to be  “be filled with the Spirit.” A Spirit-led life isn’t necessarily dramatic or erratic. Rather, Paul describes it very practically: worship God, encourage one another, and give thanks.

Imagine if, as men, our conversations naturally brought people back to God. If people walked away from spending time with us feeling encouraged, reminded of God’s goodness and wanting to worship Him more.

Imagine if worship wasn’t something we barely did for twenty minutes at church, but something that followed us throughout the week. A song in our head while driving to work. A quick prayer before a meeting. Thanking God while eating dinner. Choosing praise even when the day hasn’t gone the way we wanted.

That last one can be especially difficult for us men, because we like to think we’re pretty self-sufficient and got it together. But Paul is clear, “give thanks always and for everything.” This includes times when things are going well, and we defer praise and thanks to God, even when things aren’t.

A Spirit-led life doesn’t mean having a perfect life. It means continually turning our attention back to God in the middle of an imperfect one. So today, be active, attempt to include God in your conversations. Put on worship music instead of automatically filling every quiet moment with entertainment. Thank Him when you wake up, when you eat, and when something goes wrong.

Don’t just drift through today.

Walk carefully. Make the most of it. Worship God through it.

And allow the Holy Spirit to lead.