Ephesians 5:15-20 NIV
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. Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another with psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit. Sing and make music from your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Living as children of light has practical ramifications, not just spiritual. God’s people are to be as wise as serpents and as innocent as doves (Matthew 10:16), being on the job continually and working effectively in the power of the Holy Spirit, just like Jesus was, because the days are evil.

That is significant to understand, because in evil times many encourage the Church to lie low and stay safe. But Paul understood that the Church can never be truly safe in an evil world, And if we pull back and hide out, trying to avoid trouble and persecution, we will immediately cease to be salt and light (Matthew 5:13-16), and yeast (Luke 13:20-21), and so our society will get no better, but will slide ever more rapidly into the abyss.

The people of the kingdom are to be characterized by the presence and power of the Holy Spirit, choosing to turn away completely from all worldly influences. Even our speech is to be full of God’s wisdom and His word, encouraging each other and building each other up at every opportunity that we can find or make. And our continual focus is to be thanksgiving and praise.

It is easy to focus more on the problems in the world than on God and how He is working in the midst of those problem. But we, as God’s holy people, are never to take the broad, easy road, but the narrow road, the challenging road, often the dangerous road, down which lie abundant blessings.

Father, it is easy to fall into the trap of duplicity and hypocrisy – living one life during our spiritual activities, and another, often very different kind of life in our secular world, our so-called “real” world of work, home, and recreation. But You call us to integrity, a single holy, godly life from which we operate in whatever sphere we find ourselves at the moment. As Christians we cannot be “secular” in any way, just as the priests and even the tabernacle and its furnishing were devoted to God, and thus could be used for no secular purpose. Instead, we need to operate in the knowledge and understanding that we belong to You every minute of every day, not just in church or when we are praying. Help me, Lord, to live out my faith clearly, boldly, unashamedly, every minute of every day, so that You are glorified by every action, every thought, and so that Your kingdom agenda can keep moving forward in and through me. Amen.