Choose Wisdom Series

Choose Wisdom

Today we honor Mothers. We do so for a variety of reasons. Mostly we do so because of their love for us and because of their wisdom.

They aren’t always wise!

Consider Mrs. Monroe who lives in Darlington, Maryland. She’s the mother of 8 children. She came home one afternoon from the grocery store and walked into her home and everything looked pretty much the same, though it was a little bit quieter than usual. She looked into the middle of the living room and 5 of her darlings were sitting around in a circle, exceedingly quiet, doing something, with something in the middle of a circle. So she put down the sacks of groceries and walked over closely and looked and saw that they were playing with 5 of the cutest skunks you can imagine.

She was instantly terrified and she said, "Run children, run! Each child grabbed a skunk and ran, in 5 different directions. She was beside herself and screamed louder, more frantically, with great gusto. It so scared the children that each one squeezed his skunk! As the writer put it, "Skunks don’t like to be squeezed!"

Mostly though, mom is pretty wise. Wisdom is a matter of chosing well in life.

Paul says it this way: Ephesians 5:15-21

Eph 5:15 ISV So, then, be careful how you live. Do not be unwise but wise,

Eph 5:16 ISV making the best use of time because the days are evil.

Eph 5:17 ISV Therefore, do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is.

Eph 5:18 ISV Stop getting drunk with wine, which leads to wild living, but keep on being filled with the Spirit.

Eph 5:19 ISV Then you will recite to one another psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs. You will sing and make music to the Lord with your hearts.

Eph 5:20 ISV You will always give thanks to God the Father for everything in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Eph 5:21 ISV And you will submit yourselves to one another out of reverence for Christ.

Be careful How you live - Don’t be unwise but wise

Eph 5:15-16 ISV “ So, then, be careful how you live. Do not be unwise but wise, making the best use of time because the days are evil.”

He begins by saying "Make the best use of time"

The word "Time" = kairos, or the critical moment. Redeeming time means to make the most of each moment.

Chuck Swindoll offered this illustration of it’s importance. He said, "Let’s play ’Let’s Pretend.’ Let’s pretend that your banker phoned you late Friday night and said he had some very good news. He told you that an anonymous donor who loves you very much has decided to deposit 86,400 pennies into your account each morning, starting Monday morning. That’s $864 a day, 7 days a week, 52 weeks a year.

He adds, "But there’s one stipulation... you must spend all that money that same day. No balance will be carried over to the next day. Each evening the bank must cancel whatever sum you failed to use."

With a big smile, you thank your banker and hang up. Over that weekend you have time to plan. You grab a pencil and start figuring; $864 times 7 equals over $6,000 a week... times 52. That’s almost $315,000 a year that you have available to you if you work hard to spend it all each day. Remember, whatever you don’t spend is forfeited.

So much for ’Let’s Pretend’. Now let’s play ’Let’s Get Serious.’ Every morning Someone who loves you very much deposits into your bank of time 86,400 seconds of time ---which represent 1,440 minutes ---which, of course, equal 24 hours each day.

Now you’ve got to remember the same stipulation applies, because God gives you this amount of time for you to use each day. Nothing is ever carried over on credit to the next day. There is no such thing as a twenty-six hour day. (Though some of us wish there were).

From today’s dawn until tomorrow’s dawn, you have a precisely determined amount of time. As someone has put it, "Life is like a coin. You can spend it any way you want to, but you can spend it only once."

Every thinking person has goals and dreams he longs for, plans for, and even begins to reach for.

Sir Walter Scott’s last words written in his diary were, "Tomorrow we shall...." But there was no tomorrow for him. He died with good intentions to accomplish a certain goal -a goal that he never attained. Most people never make it.

Yet there are many people who fall short of their goals simply because of limited time or opportunity. And that is why it is always important to get busy and do the right thing immediately.