A Wise Holiday Ambition

Ephesians 5:15-21

The annual,year-end holiday season from Thanksgiving to New Year’s Eve provides awonderful opportunity for Christians to shine as lights in a dark and bungling world.During this time, as the bitter cold and darkness increases, the behavior ofnonbelievers increasingly reveals their spiritual darkness and blindnesstowards God.

Lampposts inthe Snow

A blizzard of drunken parties, wasteful spending, and hectic, chaotic schedules envelopes their lives. Against this backdrop, believers should take a different approach. We should shine as lampposts in a frigid wasteland of snow.

We should shine as lampposts in a frigid wasteland of snow.

To do this, weshould “walk circumspectly [carefully], not as fools [ignorant and unwise] butas wise [skillful and divinely instructed], redeeming [making the most of] thetime [every opportunity], because the days are evil [bad and morally corrupt]”(Eph 5:15-16).

At a time when we’retempted to diminish our Bible study and church participation, we should increaseour knowledge of God’s will by either maintaining or intensifying our exposureto his Word (Eph 5:17).

Be Filled with theSpirit

What’s more, we should abstain from mind-altering experiences, like getting drunk with alcoholic beverages or getting high on drugs. Instead, we should yield to the Holy Spirit who is both within us and among us who believe on Christ.

We should yield to the Holy Spirit who is both within us and among us who believe on Christ.

In the firstcentury, some nonbelievers, associated with the Dionysian cult, believed thatdrunkenness would increase their fellowship with God. Many others simply drankto the point of intoxication (inebriation) at mealtimes and celebrations as ameans of socialization.

Yet such behaviorstrengthens neither your relationship with God nor your relationships withother people. Instead, it leads to all sorts of reckless, senseless, andthoughtless behavior, like gluttony, wastefulness, and more (i.e., “debauchery,”Eph 5:18). That’s what happens when you fill yourself with too much alcohol (ordrugs). You do more than you expected. Rather than help yourself and yourrelationships, you ruin them instead.

Christiansshould follow a different path. We should yield ourselves to God by allowingthe Holy Spirit (who is God) to fill us. Though the Spirit indwells everyChristian from the moment of conversion onward, he does not automatically enjoya full measure of control over our lives. His divine, transforming influencedoes not permeate your mind, will, and emotions as completely as it should.

It’s a GroupThing

To allow him greater influence in your life, you need to increase your understanding and application of his Word. While this increase is your personal responsibility, it also happens in tandem with the other members of your church (Eph 4:11-16). It is not an independent, individualistic endeavor. You can't do it alone.

It is not an independent, individualistic endeavor. You can't do it alone.

You should alsoincrease his transformative, life-changing influence in your life by othermeans, as given in Ephesians 5:19-21. Making music to one another and to God(Eph 5:19), expressing thanks to God (Eph 5:20), and submitting to one another(Eph 5:21).

• “Speakingto one another” corresponds with “singing and making melody to God.” When youengage in such musical expression through words, you communicate both to yourfellow believers and to the Lord. As you do this from your heart, you invitethe Holy Spirit to expand his influence in your life, yielding yourself to hiscontrol more completely.
• “Givingthanks” also invites the Holy Spirit to expand his influence in your life. Asyou express your gratitude to God with the authority of Christ, you yieldyourself to God more completely in “all things.”
• “Submittingto one another” also invites the Holy Spirit to expand his influence in yourlife. This happens when you behave towards one another as God himself would do,recognizing that every brother and sister in Christ bears the image of God bothby creation and regeneration (“in the fear of God”). It means that you value otherbelievers more highly than yourself and place their interests ahead of yourown.

Doing thesethings requires a commitment to corporate worship and ministry. You cannot “speakto one another in psalms” or “submit to one another” when you’re apart from oneanother. And to be sure, you should “give thanks” to God “always,” not just atchurch, but there is special significance to expressing your gratitude to Godin the presence of other believers.

What About You?

As you headinto the holiday season, from Thanksgiving to New Year’s Eve, will you embracethis wise holiday ambition? Will you avoid the mad rush into darkness,refraining from drinking parties, drunkenness, and everything else that goeswith such behavior? That’s what the world does, but we should do differently.

Will you be careful and wise instead? Will you commit yourself to gathering with your church family even more, not less? Will you do what you can to maintain or increase your knowledge of God’s will through his Word? Will you invite the Holy Spirit of God to enjoy an expanded influence in your life by singing to God and one another, giving thanks to God for everything, and serving one another whenever you can?

Don’t let the holiday season take you away from your church. Let it drive you there instead.

Don’t let the holiday season take you away from your church. Let it drive you there instead. This, Christian friend, is a wise and godly holiday ambition.