“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.” (Ephesians 5:15–17, NLT)
“What was I thinking?” That’s what entered my mind as I woke up the next morning. The night before, I had attended a Christmas party for State Police Officers, being a State Police Chaplain. While at the event, I was asked to join a few of the couples after the event at the hotel bar. I enjoyed talking with the officers and their wives and girlfriends, so I met up with them after dinner. There, I had a couple of drinks as we shared stories. Several of the couples opened up and shared their problems and issues, trials and hopes. It was a good night for ministering to others. However, my wife was not feeling well. She had left dinner looking ashen. I knew she was in our hotel room just a few hundred feet away, but I had completely forgotten about my wife’s pale complexion. I thought about her again as I entered the hotel room long past midnight and found her very sick with the flu. She had suffered for hours waiting for me to come back to the room, hoping I'd check on her. I was very upset with myself for completely neglecting her while doing my work. Even if I was doing God’s work, I should have checked on her much earlier. What was I thinking?
There will be times when you will lose track of time, make a mistake, say the wrong thing, or worse. Later you will ask yourself, “What was I thinking?” The question in itself is a self-examination in which you find yourself aware that you lost track of time or acted without good reason. The busier or more distracted you are, the more often you will find yourself doing something without thinking it through. Do this often enough and you are liable to mess up big time.
The scripture for today cautions the reader to “be careful how you live” (Ephesians 5:15). The purpose of the scripture is to teach you to take time to examine your life, your choices, and your plans. So often, people don’t take the time to stop and think. They react. They press on. They don’t look ahead. They don’t ask God for direction in prayer. They don’t take the time to reflect on their situation. They blindly make their choices or decisions without thinking, freewheeling through life. The scripture above even commands the faithful to never “act thoughtlessly”. When was the last time you reacted without thinking things through?
On a stretch of roadway in Southern Indiana, there used to be a cross next to the pavement. It might still be there. If you look closely, you might see evidence of charring embedded in the concrete near the cross. The site was the scene of an accident. There, a young woman died in a car crash. After the impact, her body was completely incinerated in a fire after her gasoline tank was ruptured.
I met with her brother. He told me about the hours before the accident. Despite not feeling well, Emily took medicine and went to a party. The medicine reacted with the alcohol she consumed. She drove home incoherent and hit someone head on. The angle of the other car and the speed at which Emily was driving caused the gas tank to rupture. A passenger in Emily’s car said she heard the Emily moan after the crash, but the car was already on fire and no one could reach her. The driver in the other car was taken by life-flight to the hospital and will probably never walk again. He too had been drinking. What caused this crash? People not thinking things through, acting thoughtlessly, not being wise to their situation, not considering the consequences of their actions. All have suffered from that moment on the highway where thoughtless living changed everything.
The scripture above recommends you do not live like a fool but be wise in your decisions. It encourages you to make the most of every opportunity in your life. The scripture demands that you not act thoughtlessly or foolishly, but instead “understand what the Lord wants you to do” (Ephesians 5:17). Instead of moving through your life without thinking, take time to discern what is the will of God in that moment. Pray without ceasing (1 Thessalonians 5:17). Heed God's Spirit speaking to your soul. Give thought to what decisions you are making. Examine your motivations. Remain faithful throughout. It only takes a few thoughtless moments to wreck a beautiful life or hurt someone you love.
There will be times when you will lose track of time, make a mistake, say the wrong thing, or worse. Later you will ask yourself, “What was I thinking?” The question in itself is a self-examination in which you find yourself aware that you lost track of time or acted without good reason. The busier or more distracted you are, the more often you will find yourself doing something without thinking it through. Do this often enough and you are liable to mess up big time.
The scripture for today cautions the reader to “be careful how you live” (Ephesians 5:15). The purpose of the scripture is to teach you to take time to examine your life, your choices, and your plans. So often, people don’t take the time to stop and think. They react. They press on. They don’t look ahead. They don’t ask God for direction in prayer. They don’t take the time to reflect on their situation. They blindly make their choices or decisions without thinking, freewheeling through life. The scripture above even commands the faithful to never “act thoughtlessly”. When was the last time you reacted without thinking things through?
On a stretch of roadway in Southern Indiana, there used to be a cross next to the pavement. It might still be there. If you look closely, you might see evidence of charring embedded in the concrete near the cross. The site was the scene of an accident. There, a young woman died in a car crash. After the impact, her body was completely incinerated in a fire after her gasoline tank was ruptured.
I met with her brother. He told me about the hours before the accident. Despite not feeling well, Emily took medicine and went to a party. The medicine reacted with the alcohol she consumed. She drove home incoherent and hit someone head on. The angle of the other car and the speed at which Emily was driving caused the gas tank to rupture. A passenger in Emily’s car said she heard the Emily moan after the crash, but the car was already on fire and no one could reach her. The driver in the other car was taken by life-flight to the hospital and will probably never walk again. He too had been drinking. What caused this crash? People not thinking things through, acting thoughtlessly, not being wise to their situation, not considering the consequences of their actions. All have suffered from that moment on the highway where thoughtless living changed everything.
The scripture above recommends you do not live like a fool but be wise in your decisions. It encourages you to make the most of every opportunity in your life. The scripture demands that you not act thoughtlessly or foolishly, but instead “understand what the Lord wants you to do” (Ephesians 5:17). Instead of moving through your life without thinking, take time to discern what is the will of God in that moment. Pray without ceasing (1 Thessalonians 5:17). Heed God's Spirit speaking to your soul. Give thought to what decisions you are making. Examine your motivations. Remain faithful throughout. It only takes a few thoughtless moments to wreck a beautiful life or hurt someone you love.