Paul instructs believers to always be making the most of our time because the days are evil (Ephesians 5:15-16). I don’t think any of us doubt that the days we are living in are evil. Never in my lifetime have we seen such hate, violence, and disregard for God as we do right now. So, in these evil days, how do we redeem the time so we spend it focusing on God instead of the evil in the world?
Without intention and guidelines, it’s too easy to be drawn into the darkness instead of dwelling in the light. We will never passively make the most of our time. It must be something we consciously choose to do. That means we’re going to stand out, people will probably mock us, and we may even face persecution. But this is the life Jesus calls us to, and it is the life we choose for the sake of Christ.
Our world is saturated by media and cleverly designed to draw our eyes to the latest news, trends, and causes. The enemy purposefully creates as much diversion as he can to keep us off balance and off course. Remember when you were growing up and would get bored? Is that even possible anymore? Endless entertainment and distractions are at our fingertips, on our screens, and in our pockets. We can’t seem to escape from the noise!
This is exactly as Satan wants it to be. A distracted person will never be a devoted follower of Christ. If we stay focused on Jesus and act in His power, the devil cannot stop us. Such people terrify him. So what does he do? He does everything he can to make sure we can’t keep our focus on Christ. Unless we keep our eyes on Jesus and off of the things going on in our world, we are doomed. Making the most of our time seems like a pipe dream given the amount of distractions and deceptions constantly being put in our paths.
Satan wants you to watch the news. He delights in your endless scrolling of social media feeds. If the devil can keep you concerned with what your neighbors, friends, or coworkers are doing, then he knows he doesn’t need to worry about you. You are powerless every time you take your eyes off Jesus. Think how much time you spend on everything other than worshipping God. We cannot be making the most of our time when we are whiling it away.
Every moment matters. Every second counts. We are in the spiritual war of the ages and cannot afford to let our guard down for an instant. Satan sets up everything in this world to break down our defenses. Sadly, it doesn’t take much. We concern ourselves with everything that does not matter or last while neglecting the only One who is worthy of our attention and will reign for eternity. We are fools to take our eyes off Jesus. What is it we think is more worthy of our attention? What is it we think is better than Jesus?
If we are to be obedient in making the most of our time, we must be intentional about keeping our eyes on Christ. We cannot allow the things of this world to distract us from God’s mission. We can’t stop the evil in this world. No matter how much we know, all that knowledge cannot win the spiritual battles being waged against us. Our only hope, and indeed our duty, is to put aside the things of this world and look instead to Jesus. Be sober-minded and intentional. Redeem every minute to the praise and glory of our beautiful Savior and King.