Walking Wisely in a World of Distraction

In a world that moves at breakneck speed, where we juggle countless responsibilities and drown in endless streams of information, there's a profound challenge we all face: How do we live intentionally? How do we walk through life with purpose rather than stumbling blindly through our days?

The apostle Paul offers timeless wisdom in Ephesians 5:15-21 that speaks directly to our modern struggle: "Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time because the days are evil."

The Hazardous Trail of Life

Imagine standing at the base of the Huashan Trail in China, one of the world's most dangerous hiking paths. Narrow wooden planks are bolted to the side of a cliff face, thousands of feet above the ground. Would you sprint across those planks? Would you check your phone while traversing that treacherous path? Of course not. You would move with extreme care, watching every step, fully present in each moment.

Yet how do most of us navigate our daily lives? We race through our days blindfolded, hoping we don't crash into anything significant. We prioritize speed over wisdom, convenience over discernment. We live in Cypress, Texas—or wherever we call home—as if we're running an obstacle course with our eyes closed.

This is not the way we're called to live.

Walking With Care and Wisdom

Paul's instruction to "look carefully" isn't about paranoia or fear. It's about intentionality. It's about recognizing that we're engaged in a spiritual battle, that we're knights called to push back darkness in our world. And knights don't charge into battle recklessly—they move strategically, wisely, carefully.

Living without wisdom means conducting ourselves as if God doesn't exist. It's what we might call "Christian atheism"—claiming to believe in God while making decisions, both large and small, without any consideration of His perspective or direction.

The fool says in his heart, "There is no God" (Psalm 14:1). But we don't want to be foolish. We want to walk in wisdom, considering God's perspective in every aspect of our lives.

Redeeming the Time

Paul uses a fascinating phrase: "making the best use of the time." Different Bible translations render this as "redeeming the time" or "making the most of every opportunity." The Greek word here relates to purchasing, rescuing, or paying a ransom—like someone buying a slave's freedom.

The idea is to save something from being wasted or used improperly.

Consider Ron Wayne, one of three men who started Apple Computer in 1976. Eleven days after the company's founding, Wayne sold his 10% stake for $800. Today, that stake would be worth between $300-400 billion. He failed to see the opportunity before him.

Or think of the man who bought glass negatives at a garage sale for $45, only to discover they were original Ansel Adams photographs worth $200 million. He recognized the opportunity and seized it.

Life presents us with countless opportunities—divine moments that God places before us. But these moments are fleeting. They may never present themselves again. Paul is urging us to walk slowly enough, carefully enough, wisely enough to recognize these opportunities when they appear.

The word Paul uses for "time" here isn't chronos (clock time) but kairos (special seasons, significant moments). We're called to redeem these kairos moments—to rescue them from waste and use them for their proper, God-glorified purpose.

Why the Urgency?

Paul gives us a sobering reason for this careful living: "because the days are evil."

This means two things. First, God calls us to counter the evil in our world. As knights in a spiritual battle, we're meant to push back darkness. But this doesn't mean being offensive or putting people down. Jesus reserved His harsh words for religious hypocrites, not for those who needed to hear good news.

Pushing back darkness looks like inviting our neighbors over for dinner, building genuine relationships, and sharing the love of Christ through our lives. It's being offensive in our love and grace, not offensive in our judgment.

Second, the world offers countless distractions that waste our time. We live in an era of unprecedented distraction. Social media, entertainment, and endless digital noise compete for our attention every moment.

Consider the powerful images of people drowning while others photograph them, couples at dinner both absorbed in their phones, or someone unplugging life support to charge a device. These stark illustrations reveal how we've allowed technology to capture what should belong to relationships, purpose, and life itself.

Social media isn't inherently evil, but when we give away our divine moments to scroll through feeds, when we trade eternal impact for temporary distraction, we're wasting the time God has given us.

Pursuing God's Will

So how do we live differently? How do we walk wisely and redeem the time?

Paul says: "Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is."

Some of God's will is crystal clear in Scripture—don't murder, don't commit adultery, love your neighbor. But for many daily decisions, God gives us principles and perspectives rather than specific directives. He tells us to prioritize family, work with excellence, and not derive our identity from our occupation.

Here's the key: We find God's will more easily when we're practicing everything else Paul mentions. When we walk carefully, when we're making the most of opportunities, when we're using our time wisely, when we're filled with the Spirit—suddenly, God's will becomes clearer.

But when we're wasting time, rushing through life blindfolded, ignoring God's Word, His will seems impossibly distant.

Filled With the Spirit

Paul offers a striking contrast: "Do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit."

He's contrasting lives under different controls. When people get drunk, they waste time and money, make foolish decisions, say hurtful things, and wake up hoping they didn't do something stupid the night before.

The Spirit-filled life is the opposite. Each believer has all of the Holy Spirit, but being filled with the Spirit means the Spirit has all of the believer. It means every area of our life is yielded to His control.

When we're filled with the Spirit, we don't wake up worried about what we did. We may make mistakes, but we don't do stupid things. We live with joy, purpose, and clarity.

Living in Community

Finally, Paul says that Spirit-filled people "submit to one another out of reverence for Christ." We put others' needs before our own—not because they deserve it, but because of what Christ did for us.

How can we say no to serving others when Jesus washed His disciples' feet? How can we refuse to help when Jesus, the perfect Lamb of God, said yes to the cross?

We're not meant to walk this journey alone. We need mentors who have been where we want to go. Stop asking directions from people who have never been to your desired destination.

Three Questions

As you reflect on this message, consider three questions:

Who do you need to come alongside you to mentor you? Find someone who has walked successfully with Jesus and ask them to help you grow.

What divine opportunity is before you right now that you need to act on? You know what it is. That person, that situation, that calling you've been avoiding. This opportunity may never come again.

What careless behavior do you need to eliminate from your life? That thing that weighs you down, that you don't want to tell anyone about—it's time to address it.

God invites us into abundant life. This is how we find it: walking carefully, acting wisely, redeeming our time, pursuing His will, being filled with His Spirit, and living in genuine community.

The days are evil, but we are knights in this battle. Let's walk worthy of our calling, making the most of every divine moment God places before us.