Be Careful How You Live
Elaine Poproski Download: Audio
Sunday Scripture Reading: Ephesians 5:15-20 (NRSV)
15 Be careful then how you live, not as unwise people but as wise, 16 making the most of the time, because the days are evil. Read more…
Looking to Sunday: Preparing to Hear From God
by Elaine Poproski
Thanksgiving is upon us. The leaves are turning, the air is crisp, and in my office I’m beginning to think about Advent and Christmas. But this weekend is reserved for Thanksgiving. It’s a time to pause and consider the gifts and blessings in our lives. It’s a time to speak our gratitude out loud. What are you thankful for?
On Sunday we’re going to continue reading Ephesians 5. We’ll note an interesting contrast that appeared last week and that reappears this week. In this part of Ephesians, the author identifies the contrast between those who are and those who are not followers of Christ. He has a lot to say about the markers of a life without Christ; in contrast, one of the key markers of life with Christ is thanksgiving. Last week it was mentioned briefly with regard to our speech. This week we’re told that our thanksgiving should be constant and should be for everything.
Think about that for a moment.
Thanksgiving isn’t to be reserved for one weekend a year. Just as we’re told to pray without ceasing (1 Thessalonians. 5:17), we’re told to give thanks constantly. It’s supposed to be like breathing for those of us who’ve met Jesus and invited His Spirit to make us like Him. That’s why the second rule of thanksgiving is necessary: give thanks…for everything (Ephesians 5:20). Our lives include good and bad, so if we’re to give thanks constantly, such thanksgiving will necessarily include the bad as well as the good. But what does that mean?
Is Paul saying we are to give thanks for the tragedies, the suffering, or the pain we endure? Are we Christians called to some kind of masochistic orientation to life? Are the thousands of people affected by the latest earthquake and tsunami in Indonesia expected to be thankful for that earthquake and tsunami?[1] Are they supposed to be thankful for the deaths of their friends and family members? Do Paul’s words mean they should be grateful for the lack of clean water and the hospitals’ inability to treat all the wounded? No. None of that is what it means to give thanks for everything. On Sunday we’ll consider what it does mean.
As you prepare for Sunday, I invite you to spend some time thinking about the things in your life for which you are not thankful. Spend some time thinking about the things in your life that are not good. And then spend some time asking God to help you understand what it means for you to give thanks for everything. Perhaps, as you hear from God on this, you might share with the rest of us on Sunday how God answered that prayer for understanding.
[1] If you want to contribute to aid efforts in Indonesia, Canadian Baptists have a way you can do that through CBM (Canadian Baptist Ministries). Go to www.cbmin.org to find out more.