Making the Most of Every Moment

15 Pay careful attention, then, to how you walk—not as unwise people but as wise—16 making the most of the time,, because the days are evil. 17 So don’t be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is. 18 And don’t get drunk with wine, which leads to reckless living, but be filled by the Spirit: 19 speaking to one another in psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, singing and making music with your heart to the Lord, 20 giving thanks always for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, 21 submitting to one another in the fear of Christ.

Redeem the Time

The phrase can be thought of as "making the most of the time," or "redeeming the time," or "buying back the time."

Before I say more, I want to call out that leisure is not inherently bad. In fact, God commands us to observe the Sabbath. Rest is essential for our health and vitality. So, I don’t want you to hear Paul or me suggesting that it is always sinful to relax and rest—it is not.

When we talk about "redeeming the time," we mean making the most of each moment for the sake of God's kingdom.

Through intentionality, even the most mundane moments can become opportunities to engage with the transforming power of the Holy Spirit.

This aligns with Paul’s teaching on taking every thought captive (2 Corinthians 10:5). Just as we bring our thoughts into submission to Christ, we should also aim to make the most of every moment.

I strongly encourage you all to set aside some time to meaningfully reflect on how you might apply this principle to your own life. You’ll have to do that work; I cannot prescribe a cut-and-paste template that will work for everyone. But let me share two examples of how I practice this in my own life:

Driving

When I'm commuting or on a drive by myself, I sometimes make phone calls to follow up on conversations, encourage others, or simply check in. Other times, I might listen to a theological podcast, audiobook, or sermon. If I choose music, I often opt for something faith-based that fills my mind with truth.

I'm driving in the same traffic as everyone else, but while that congestion may cause frustration or anxiety for others, I'm using it to foster spiritual growth. The same traffic jam that leads others to cuss and complain is the same traffic jam that becomes a blessing to me.

Work

I’m going to talk about the workplace, but much of what I’m saying applies to everyone in many different scenarios.

In last week’s homily, I encouraged us to "embrace the strange." The context might be a bit different today, but once again, I invite us to embrace being different. God sanctifies and sets His Church apart; we are meant to live and act differently from the world. When we stick out like a sore thumb, that’s a feature, not a bug! So, embrace it and pursue it. We are pilgrims passing through, and the culture of our kingdom is vastly different from the culture of the world. We must not let the fear of being seen as "weird"—which is really just the fear of man—stop us from sharing the love of Jesus.

So, how does this practically play out for me, and how could it play out for you?

Work is work, and it will always be there, but nothing is more important in any given moment than the person right in front of me. I make it a point to step away from the keyboard or put down my phone and engage, giving my full attention.

And praise God that He never engages with us half-heartedly.

I intentionally dive deep into conversations, even if it feels awkward at times. I never shy away from speaking words of life—always striving to encourage and build others up. I avoid gossip, and I reject sarcasm, knowing those things don’t reflect Christ.

The wild thing is, even if they don’t know it yet, the person in front of me is created in the image of God, and chances are, they’re carrying a burden. They might be hurting, weary, insecure, or facing any number of struggles. How can I offer them refreshment? Even if it costs me perception—seeming foolish or undignified in the office—how can I be a reflection of Christ’s love in that moment?

And by the way, I don’t do any of these things perfectly or get them right all the time. But this is what I believe Paul is getting at; this is the essence of mastery—intentionally filling even the mundane parts of our day with actions or thoughts that further God's work in us and through us.

As John Wesley once prayed, "Do all the good you can, by all the means you can, in all the ways you can, in all the places you can, at all the times you can, to all the people you can, as long as ever you can." May this be the heartbeat of our lives as we seek to redeem the time for God’s glory.

What Is the Lord’s Will?

Often, when we think about God's will, we approach it in unhelpfully mystical terms. I want to encourage you that, while we cannot fully know the entirety of God's counsel—since His ways are not our ways—He has graciously revealed how we can live according to His will. We've been exploring this throughout our study of Ephesians. So, let’s take a moment to consider this list from Ephesians chapters 1 through 5, where Paul outlines practical ways for us to live in alignment with God's will:

Embrace your identity in Christ (Ephesians 1:4-5)

Live for God’s glory (Ephesians 1:12)

Pursue unity and peace (Ephesians 2:14-16)

Show God’s love (Ephesians 3:17-19)

Walk worthy of your calling (Ephesians 4:1)

Put off the old self (Ephesians 4:22-24)

Imitate God by walking in love (Ephesians 5:1-2)

Walk as children of light (Ephesians 5:8-9)

Community Culture, Kingdom Culture (Verses 19-21)

Just like certain actions lead to predictable outcomes, certain realities produce certain results.

For example:

If you put oil in your car's gas tank, it won’t start.

If you don’t charge your phone, it will die.

If you build a house on sand, it will collapse.

If you plant a seed in bad soil, fruit will not grow.

This is what Paul is getting at.

If someone lives in drunkenness, their life will reflect chaos and recklessness.
And similarly, if you are filled with the Holy Spirit, there is a predictable outcome. Your life will be marked by encouraging others, cultivating gratitude in all circumstances, and prioritizing the needs and well-being of others over your own desires and preferences.

What is beautiful about this is that it is the Spirit’s power working in and through us to bring this about. And when we live this out, because it is the Spirit’s work in us, we can be assured that the community we are building becomes a reflection of Christ’s kingdom—full of grace, gratitude, and mutual care, all rooted in our deep reverence for Jesus. The culture of our community mirrors the culture of the Kingdom. There is much mystery to what eternal life with God in heaven will be like, but I would humbly submit that we actually don’t need to look too far from the Church on earth to get a pretty telling picture of what it might be like.