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
I had to memorize that at some point while growing up and still hear it in the King James … “See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil.”
Two-thousand years ago, Paul said, “the days are evil.” Paul didn’t counsel his readers to obsess about the fact, but rather told them to focus their time on understanding and living out God’s will. He wanted them to redeem the time.
Here’s a suggestion about how you might redeem some time. Here’s one place you could reallocate time to spend getting to know God’s will better … so that you can live a life worthy of your calling in Christ Jesus.
Go onto your Facebook and click those three little bars. Scroll down to “Settings & Privacy.” You may have to expand this menu. Find the bar labeled “Your time on Facebook” and tap into that. You’re going to find a bar graph showing how much time you’ve spent on Facebook each day for the past week. In the text at the top, it will tell you your daily average. I’m pretty sure that number is only for the device you’re on … so between your phone, PC or tablet the total might be greater.
I sit down and start scrolling and it kind of anesthetizes my brain and swallows up time. Not only does it consume that limited and valuable resource but there’s something disturbing about the emotional impact of going from post to post. I might go from reading a Bible verse … to suddenly hearing a protester shouting the F-word … to something funny … to something tragic … to a post that’s simply banal. I can go from angry, to amused, to discouraged, to sympathetic in a matter of minutes. I have to wonder if it’s wiring my brain to be poly-polar. Then if I’m watching videos, I find myself losing patience with the topic and scrolling to the next and then the next. So, what’s that doing to my ability to concentrate, process and think deeply?
Redeem that time and devote … at least some of it to God’s word. I believe concentrating on longer portions of Scripture can actually train your brain to reason and follow a logical argument. Your Bible app will read you the entire book of Philippians in just 15 minutes. If you do that you will hear this encouragement …
Whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you. Philippians 4:8–9
