The Path of Wisdom
Day before yesterday, my blog centered around “seizing the moments”. Today I’m centering on “seizing the DAY” — Carpe Diem. Seizing the day has everything to do with walking, talking, and living in wisdom aka being a wise believer.
You, young ones out there, may not remember Art Linkletter who had a show called “Kids Say the Darndest Things”. He was calm, collected and asked kids questions and they responded with their off-the-cuff answers. They spoke the truth they knew that brought the house down with laughter. I saw these proverbs spoken or written by kids: Ever hear a child share a nugget of wisdom?
** When your mom is mad at your dad, don’t let her brush your hair.
** Never ask your 3-year-old brother to hold a tomato.
** Don’t sneeze when someone is cutting your hair.
** Don’t wear polka-dot underwear under white shorts.
** If you want a kitten, start out asking for a horse.
** Never hold a dustbuster and a cat at the same time.
I’d say those kids spoke truth and wisdom. The question is for us:
“Do we need wisdom?” James 1:5 says, “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, Who gives to all men generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him.”
I hear God telling me — telling us — to “Seize the day, make it count; don’t waste your life, be a difference-maker, time is short, so get on it!” St. Paul says in Ephesians 5:15-17 “Be very careful, then, how you live — not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is.” Those words sound like words meant for THIS DAY! That’s why we must “seize the day to make it count!”
There are three commands in that verse: Be careful, do not be foolish, and understand the will of God. St. Paul tells us how.
1. Be careful. My children and grands all have dogs. Where there are dogs, there is poop. Well, at least in the backyard. We have to be careful where we step because there are doggie land mines. And we Christians must be careful where we step in life. There are things and situations and relationships we can step into that will make a horrible mess. St. Paul is saying “Be careful how you walk.” Being careful how we walk is seeing things from God’s vantage point and we find that out in His Word.
2. Be wise. Wisdom is being able to live life consistent with God’s ways through continually applying God’s Word to our life. An added bonus to believers is that God’s wisdom starts to get stronger in our lives. Some of the dumb, foolish things we did before are like neon lights of warning to us when we confront choices because of our brand new life in Christ. “Seizing the day” is seizing the opportunities for making good and right decisions. We continually grow in wisdom, and we become more mature, more faithful and more productive in His service.
3. Understand the Lord’s will. We’ve all heard statistics about how many people’s lives are saved by wearing seatbelts, but if we refuse to take the extra time to reach over, pull it across us and click it shut, we are not wise. God’s will is His Word. Reading His Word, studying and applying His Word is the key to a life of blessing.
“Seizing the day” is spending our lives on things that matter most.
God leads those who truly stick close to Him. “Seizing the day” is a living a purpose-driven life. Are we making the most of every opportunity to share Christ — in our words and our actions?
It’s easy to focus our attention on what others say and do. It’s easy to look at the new administration that will lead our Country over the next four years and wander aimlessly and wonder if our Country is “going to hell in a handbasket”. “Seizing the day” isn’t looking at what is wrong in our world and casting blame to others. “Seizing the day” is making this day count for us, individually, for those in our spheres of influence — our families, our co-workers, our neighbors and for those we can help, serve and love. Jesus was our prime example. He “seized the day” and made every day count in those three years of ministry. Shouldn’t we follow suit?