Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. (Ephesians 5:15-16, emphasis added)
It is not a hard sell to convince a Christian that the days are evil. We have men dressing up like women and sexualizing story time for kids in libraries. That will tell you something about our culture. But you don’t get to that level of depravity without a strong supporting cast. Sure, your secular conservative is disgusted by drag queen story hour…as he is home watching Love Island. For the Christian they are even more appalled; the only difference is they are probably watching The Bachelor instead. Paul warns us:
“But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty. For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. Avoid such people.” (2 Timothy 3:1-5)
Does any of that sound familiar? Like I said, it is not a hard sell to convince a Christian that the days are evil. But what might be more challenging to get across is the importance of time management because the days are evil. The harder sell is that drag queen story hour might actually have implications for soccer practice. Sure, we know we need to walk carefully, avoiding evil, not being foolish but wise. I get it, don’t go to drag queen story hour. But it is Paul’s next comment I want us to focus on, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil.
What’s the connection between evil days and time management? Well, evil days remind us of the end, and the end reminds us of what’s really important, and what’s really important should inform how we spend our time.
Evil Days Remind Us Of The End
Christ is coming to bring judgment on the earth because of evil. Every time a Christian sees evil we ought to be reminded of that truth. Christ is coming to deal with all this, to put an end to it. When Paul warns Timothy of the coming increase in wickedness, he prefaces it all with, “in the last days”. Evil reminds us of the end, and an increase in evil ought to intensify that reminder. This world is temporary. Christ is coming. Evil will be dealt with.
The End Reminds Us Of What Is Really Important
Imagine your house is on fire. The blaze is quickly getting out of control and overwhelming. You have just enough time to grab one thing. What do you let burn and what do you take? Do you go for that bowling trophy? How about your kid’s little league metals? Do you grab your laptop? Do you go for the keepsake your mother passed down to you? Do you go for the family photo album? How about your two-year-old? Let’s get the kid!
When time is limited, what matters gets clarified. Evil reminds us that time is limited. God’s coming to deal with all this. To put an end to it. The wickedness of our culture is like the spreading flames on our walls, and we are still in the house. So what do we do with the time we have? It should clarify what really matters. What is worth going after? We don’t know how much time we have, so we need to make the best use of it.
What’s really important should inform how we spend our time.
Once you know your two-year-old is more important than the photo album, you run after her in the fire. Evil reminds us of the end, the end reminds us of what really matters, and what really matters informs how we spend our time. We all know this in theory. We’ve even had country singers remind us of this. Tim McGraw, awhile back, had a popular song called, “Live Like You Were Dying.” The song is about someone who finds out they don’t have much time left, so they want to go bull riding and skydiving and make some apologies. He discovers that he has waited too long to really live life the right way and now wishes everyone would live like they were dying.
The point is, when you think you have all the time in the world you tend to spend it poorly, but when it becomes clear that our time is limited we start to spend it differently. That is what Paul is arguing for—Christian, the days are getting more evil, and you know what that means: There is going to come a time when time is up, so make the best use of the time. Invest in what matters. Is it your kid’s athletic career or their soul? I know that is an easy answer for any loving parent, but do your time choices support your answer? The walls are on fire and we want to get him out of the house. What are we doing? The days are evil, they pull us in wrong directions, but they also remind us that our time is limited. So are we trying to build our own career or God’s kingdom? Do we have a stronger pursuit of retirement or eternity?
For the Christian we are not to live like we are dying, we are to live like Christ is returning. For us, to die is gain. We’ve got the rest of eternity to fulfill all our thrills and longings in the presence of God’s glory, not on the back of some bull named Fumanchu. But right now, the days are evil. Therefore, we need to make the best use of the time we have.
How To Live Like Christ Is Returning
1) Pursue Christ relationally.
Everything is about Him and He is returning to reign forever, so get to know Him now. Take in His word, get to know His character, fall in love with Him.
2) Pursue Christ morally.
Someday in our eternity with Christ, there will be no sin, which means there will never be an opportunity to honor God in the unique way of saying no to sin. There will never be an opportunity to honor God in the unique way of prioritizing him over the lesser things of this world. So we need to make the best use of time now in our worship of God.
3) Pursue Christ missionally.
God has given us a purpose for the time we have here. We are ambassadors for Christ spreading the gospel message and making disciples. Be all in with the work He has called us to, so upon His return we hear, “Well done, good and faithful servant.”
4) Pursue Christ corporately.
Don’t over-individualize your Christianity. Christ is returning for his bride, which is the church. Be an active part of a local church. It is the church of Jesus Christ that will last forever, not your home, not your company, not your trophies, not your kids’ trophies, but the Church of Christ. Therefore, make your greatest investments into what will last the longest.
The fact that the days are evil does not scare us; rather it builds our anticipation as we are reminded of Christ’s return—so let’s make the best use of the time.