READING: Eph. 5:11-21: And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather expose them. … “Awake, you who sleep, arise from the dead, and Christ will give you light.” See then that you walk circumspectly … redeeming the time, because the days are evil. … be filled with the Spirit …, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord, giving thanks always for all things to God the Father … submitting to one another in the fear of God.
The world of unbelievers exists outside of God and His Word. This world is unfruitful: it does not serve the purpose of glorifying God. In Rom. 1, there is a list of various unfruitful works: dishonorable thoughts, impure desires, all forms of immorality, greed, envy, hatred, gossip, and slander are included.
Let us remember that these practices are an abomination to the Lord, though sometimes they come to us in attractive packaging, appealing to our old self with its desires.
Then we must unmask them: discover their true nature and decisively distance ourselves from them. Do we do this with movies on TV, Netflix, YouTube, or TikTok? No, as Christians, we must honestly do this even when others are watching.
When we examine these things in the light of God’s Word, their true nature becomes clear: they are not innocent matters or mere pleasures but works of the adversary, of dark forces of sin and corruption. To do this, we must be fully aware of who Christ is for us and what His Kingdom entails.
Let us not be careless or indifferent in our service to the Lord but cast off what does not align with Christ. And let us make the most of our time: dedicating all our time and effort in life to thanksgiving to God, so that we may bear fruit showing the works of the Spirit and bring glory and honor to God.
For all these things we have to pray that the Spirit may fulfill us!
Do we sing at home to the glory of God?
Singing: Ps. 51:4