December 5, 2017

Be Wise

“Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity.”  Col. 4:5 

The second instruction provided by Paul deals with a key ingredient in the walk of faith:  walk in wisdom.  In the Greek, wisdom is “sophos” and means prudent in our walk dealings with others, as a result of our relationship with God.  It also refers to our God-given capability to regulate ourselves, or what we might refer to as self-control, which is a fruit of the Spirit. 

In Hebrew, wisdom is “chokhmah” and is knowledge, experience and insight.  The Book of Proverbs is commonly called the book of wisdom.  We can conclude that wisdom comes from our relationship with the Lord – it is equipment for our spirits.

It is significant that Paul writes for the church to walk in wisdom toward a particular group – those who are outside.  We can surmise this means those people outside the church body.  This makes even more sense when we read the next instruction, to redeem the time.  Redeeming the time is to take advantage of the appointed times (kairos) or divine appointments that God schedules into our calendars.  He wants us to maximize those moments.  He desires the kairos times to be recognized and maximized within the church – and especially beyond the church.  After all, the church is the instrument used the Lord to advance the Kingdom of God.  This is the role of evangelism – to reach the lost.

Eph. 5:15-16 reinforce this message: “See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil.”  Likewise, Jesus instructed the disciples in Mt. 10:16, “Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves.  Therefore be wise as serpents and harmless (or innocent) as doves.”  Again, these verses reference the need for prudence in recognizing situations and making good decisions.  Phil. 2:14-16 expresses it this way, “Do all things without complaining and disputing, that you may become blameless and harmless (innocent), children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world….”