Living Wisely!

"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 NIV).

How do we live wisely--understanding what the Lord's will is?

The first thing we must do is to seek God's wisdom in all things and we can find His will in His Word--His Word is His Will for us and how we live.

After admonishing the church at Ephesus to live as children of the light--doing all things that can be openly examined and scrutinized without shame or fear, Paul continues with instructions based upon the Word and their circumstances. He reminds them that once upon a time--they walked in darkness--not knowing truth and doing all sorts of things that were too shameful to even discuss.
 Now, he tells them--find out what pleases The Lord and live accordingly.

Those words--"and find out what pleases The Lord" (Ephesians 5:10) speak volumes to us today. If we're going to live wisely, doing what pleases The Lord, we must know what it is that pleases Him. The only way we can discover that is to read His Word and get understanding.

Notice what Paul doesn't say--live to please self or others. There's a reason he doesn't say that. If we learn to live to please God, in all things--He will give us favor with others and therefore--they will be pleased. However, we cannot attempt to please man (our fleshly desires) and think that God will be pleased with us--especially if what we do is in opposition to His Word.

The Word never tells us to be politically correct in order not to offend others with truth. The Word tells us to be bold and very courageous in promoting the Gospel. If people are offended by Truth, it is because Truth exposes their lifestyle that opposes God. In other words--Truth pulls the cover off those things that people think they do in secret or in dark places where they cannot be seen.

Being politically correct--sugar-coating truth or exchanging truth for a lie--has become the blueprint the enemy uses to cause many to fall away from living according to The Word. This is foolishness, not wisdom. And because of the foolishness, we see changes in just about everything, made to accommodate the ungodly. Changes in school curriculum that expose young children to lifestyles that are in opposition to God. Changes in how those in authority seek to please people in ungodliness more than they do about upholding righteousness. Changes in how churches abdicate their responsibilities and duties to God in order to win favor with the masses who are on a path going directly to hell. All these changes--allowing evil to reign--unchecked--is the reason we see so much violence and killing. The prince of the air--is amassing an army that is willing to defy God no matter what the consequences are and foolish people are being led by the nose--into the lake of fire. 

That is not living wisely. If what we do in private cannot stand the test of microscopic examination, we shouldn't do it for surely, we will be exposed by the light of Truth and all things done is darkness, will eventually be exposed by the light.

Now is not the time to back away from God's Will; now is the time to endeavor to seek His Will on a daily basis and live as wise people, not foolish ones.