Ephesians 5:15-20
Walk Carefully (vv. 15-16)
Do not live randomly
Do live redemptively
Walk Steadily (vv. 17-20)
Be single-minded
Be sober-minded
Be Spirit-minded
- Gladness in worship
- Gratitude in circumstances
- Gracious in relationships
More to Consider
When I was a seminary student, I recall hearing of a man with a Ph.D. who ran an elevator in a downtown Louisville, Kentucky, office building. Just prior to my oral examination for the same degree the faculty examining committee failed to pass a philosophy student. I was concerned, thinking the the faculty committee was getting tougher. I asked one of the professors why they failed to pass the man. He said the student was able to answer all the questions about the philosophy of others, but he had no philosophy of his own. Both the elevator operator and the student had knowledge; neither had wisdom.
Knowledge is a mental accumulation of facts. Wisdom is the ability to use knowledge properly in the ordering of one’s life. Hobbs, H. H. (1990). My favorite illustrations (p. 265). Broadman Press.
Vance Havner once noted that many college professors are searching for wisdom while the janitors that clean their offices may have discovered it years ago.
Augustine wrote in his Confessions about his professors: They saw many true things about the creature (creation) but they do not seek with true piety for the Truth, the Architect of Creation, and hence they do not find him. Morgan, R. J. (2000). Nelson’s complete book of stories, illustrations, and quotes (electronic ed., p. 773). Thomas Nelson Publishers.
When I was a boy, my father, a baker, introduced me to the wonders of song, tenor Luciano Pavarotti relates. He urged me to work very hard to develop my voice. Arrigo Pola, a professional tenor in my hometown of Modena, Italy, took me as a pupil. I also enrolled in a teachers college. On graduating, I asked my father, "Shall I be a teacher or a singer?" "Luciano," my father replied, "if you try to sit on two chairs, you will fall between them. For life, you must choose one chair." I chose one. It took seven years of study and frustration before I made my first professional appearance. It took another seven to reach the Metropolitan Opera. And now I think whether it's laying bricks, writing a book--whatever we choose--we should give ourselves to it. Commitment, that's the key. Choose one chair.
Guideposts.
