Be Careful How You Live
Sermon
Sermons on the Second Readings
Series III, Cycle B
Object:
Be very careful, then, how you live -- not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil.
-- Ephesians 5:15-16
Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
-- Ephesians 5:19-20
Be very careful, then, how you live. In these verses of Ephesians that we have been reading the last few weeks, there is eternal wisdom for improving the quality of your character, the lust for life, the satiety of your soul. To put it out there in straight terms, if you follow this advice from Saint Paul, your life will become everything it is intended to be. You will realize your potential; you will accomplish your purpose. You will experience the deepest, most rewarding satisfaction. Guaranteed!
Understand what the Lord's will is. One of the best-selling books in recent years is The Purpose-Driven Life. It is a daily, intentional guide for discovering why you were put here on this earth. What is God's plan for your life? Millions of folks are buying it. Church study groups are focusing on it. It is evident that many, many people are hungry for a more meaningful life. I am happy for those who are finding direction from this book. It is, however, disheartening to observe how many in our community are looking in the wrong places for love, for satisfaction in life, and for fulfillment.
Walter Chrysler said, "The reason so many people never get anywhere in life is because when opportunity knocks, they are out in the backyard looking for four-leaf clovers." Isn't that true? Our churches are here offering fellowship, soul-satisfying relationships, and many folks are out looking in bars, getting drunk with lowlifes, hoping to find their soul mate. Don't be foolish, says Saint Paul, but understand what the will of the Lord is. God has planted a dream in your heart, but you have to take the right road to realize it. You have to make the right choices to achieve it. You have to keep traveling down that path until you come to it.
One father told his children early in their lives, "Each of you has a specific God-given purpose for being on earth. You are different from everyone else who ever lived, and your reason for being alive is unique to you and you alone. You must discover what this purpose is." Each of his children took this message to heart. By being told repeatedly that they were very special and had a God-given reason for having been created, they sensed that there was a distinct and particular mission for them. (Deepak Chopra relates this story in one of his books.)
Paul's advice, then, is that we become filled not with that which subverts the quality of life, but that we fill our lives with that which is virtuous, honest, and healthful.
You and I are influenced by our environment, by the things to which we are exposed. If you spend too much time with negative people, you will become negative and critical. Seek out the friendship of those who look on the bright side, those who have a positive attitude, those who look for opportunities to do good works, not to gossip.
If you spend your time thinking about money, you will become selfish and grasping. A wise parable is that a rich person is not the one who has the most, but the one who needs the least. Do not give your heart to that which does not satisfy your heart. The desire for money and possessions is dangerous and terrible, knowing no satiety. It drives the soul that it controls to the heights of evil.
Anna Quindlen was asked to present the graduation speech at one of America's pre-eminent universities. You may have seen excerpts of it, which made the rounds of forwarded emails some time ago. Being a novelist, she admitted that she had no special expertise or insight enabling her to address that gathering of scholars. Yet, her message was poignant. Following are some excerpts:
You will be the only person alive who has sole custody of your life; your particular life. Not just your life at a desk, or your life on a bus, or in a car, or at the computer. Not just the life of your mind, but the life of your heart. Not just your bank account, but your soul.
Here is my resume: I am a good mother to three children. I no longer consider myself the center of the universe. I show up. I listen. I try to laugh. I am a good friend to my husband. I have tried to make my marriage vows mean what they say. I am a good friend to my friends and they to me. Without them there would be nothing to say to you today, because I would be a cardboard cutout.
So here's what I wanted to tell you today: Get a life. A real life, not a manic pursuit of the next promotion, the bigger paycheck, the larger house.
Get a life in which you are not alone. Find people you love, and who love you. And remember that love is not leisure, it is work. Pick up the phone. Send an email. Write a letter.
Get a life in which you are generous. And realize that life is the best thing ever, and that you have no business taking it for granted. Care so deeply about its goodness that you want to spread it around. Take money you would have spent on beer and give it to charity. Work in a soup kitchen.
And think of life as a terminal illness, because if you do, you will live it with joy and passion as it ought to be lived.1
This message certainly catches the spirit of Paul's exhortation: "Be very careful, then, how you live -- not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity...."
How could we each write our own resumes? How are we handling the custody of our lives, not just the life of our minds, but of our hearts; not just our bank accounts, but our souls?
It's never too late to start. I look back on my life and realize I could have been a better husband -- a better father. I have wasted a lot of precious time. But Paul's message is not about engendering guilt for what could have been, or what should have been. This is about now. Now is the time. This very moment I can start making positive choices.
We can start in our homes where we have the most influence. "Speak to one another with psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord...."
I remember in my own home when I was growing up and my sister would spontaneously sing to me, "I love you, a bushel and a peck, a bushel and a peck and a hug around the neck." I remember my mother sitting at the piano playing hymns, inviting me to sing along and to memorize the words.
A home environment can come alive with good music. We don't always have to be talking. We can be uplifted by the sounds and lyrics of good music. Medical science has proven that cheerful music can lift the spirit from depression; it can lower blood pressure; it can stimulate the mind.
But be careful. Pay attention to what music is being played in your home. I may be out of the mainstream, but I cannot comprehend the value of some of the head throbbing drum beat rap sounds that shake my bedroom windows at two o'clock in the morning from car stereos. One mother recently discovered that the song her daughter was listening to, "Darling Nikki," described a perverted sex act and called Nikki a sex fiend. The wrong kind of music can lower our children's threshold of resistance, inciting evil or immoral activities.
On the other hand, there is music that lifts the soul, that inspires us to think more clearly, that elevates our mood. That's the kind of music to which Paul is referring. "Be filled with the spirit as you sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs among yourselves, singing and making melody to the Lord in your hearts."
This is the music that is a gift from God; the kind of music that can cheer you up; music that can slow down your anxious heart; music than can inspire kind thoughts.
I once asked a group of people how many played music in their homes. Not one answered in the affirmative. One said that the television was always on. Another said, "I know we should." Another said, "My kids are always listening on their iPods, but I can't hear it, thank goodness."
I encourage you to put more music into your home life. Turn off the television, turn on the music. Buy a lively Mozart CD. Memorize the words to hymns and recite them to yourself when you can't sleep: hymns like "Abide With Me" and "What A Friend We Have In Jesus."
When I read this scripture, I remember what Martin Luther said about music: "Singers are never sorrowful. Music makes people kinder, gentler, more reasonable. The devil flees before the sound of music."
In my heart there rings a melody! How can you be unhappy, how can you be angry when that song is ringing in your heart?
Be careful, then, how you live -- not as unwise but as wise. Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord. Amen.
____________
1. Anna Quindlen, "Commencement Address to Villanova University," June 23, 2000.
-- Ephesians 5:15-16
Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
-- Ephesians 5:19-20
Be very careful, then, how you live. In these verses of Ephesians that we have been reading the last few weeks, there is eternal wisdom for improving the quality of your character, the lust for life, the satiety of your soul. To put it out there in straight terms, if you follow this advice from Saint Paul, your life will become everything it is intended to be. You will realize your potential; you will accomplish your purpose. You will experience the deepest, most rewarding satisfaction. Guaranteed!
Understand what the Lord's will is. One of the best-selling books in recent years is The Purpose-Driven Life. It is a daily, intentional guide for discovering why you were put here on this earth. What is God's plan for your life? Millions of folks are buying it. Church study groups are focusing on it. It is evident that many, many people are hungry for a more meaningful life. I am happy for those who are finding direction from this book. It is, however, disheartening to observe how many in our community are looking in the wrong places for love, for satisfaction in life, and for fulfillment.
Walter Chrysler said, "The reason so many people never get anywhere in life is because when opportunity knocks, they are out in the backyard looking for four-leaf clovers." Isn't that true? Our churches are here offering fellowship, soul-satisfying relationships, and many folks are out looking in bars, getting drunk with lowlifes, hoping to find their soul mate. Don't be foolish, says Saint Paul, but understand what the will of the Lord is. God has planted a dream in your heart, but you have to take the right road to realize it. You have to make the right choices to achieve it. You have to keep traveling down that path until you come to it.
One father told his children early in their lives, "Each of you has a specific God-given purpose for being on earth. You are different from everyone else who ever lived, and your reason for being alive is unique to you and you alone. You must discover what this purpose is." Each of his children took this message to heart. By being told repeatedly that they were very special and had a God-given reason for having been created, they sensed that there was a distinct and particular mission for them. (Deepak Chopra relates this story in one of his books.)
Paul's advice, then, is that we become filled not with that which subverts the quality of life, but that we fill our lives with that which is virtuous, honest, and healthful.
You and I are influenced by our environment, by the things to which we are exposed. If you spend too much time with negative people, you will become negative and critical. Seek out the friendship of those who look on the bright side, those who have a positive attitude, those who look for opportunities to do good works, not to gossip.
If you spend your time thinking about money, you will become selfish and grasping. A wise parable is that a rich person is not the one who has the most, but the one who needs the least. Do not give your heart to that which does not satisfy your heart. The desire for money and possessions is dangerous and terrible, knowing no satiety. It drives the soul that it controls to the heights of evil.
Anna Quindlen was asked to present the graduation speech at one of America's pre-eminent universities. You may have seen excerpts of it, which made the rounds of forwarded emails some time ago. Being a novelist, she admitted that she had no special expertise or insight enabling her to address that gathering of scholars. Yet, her message was poignant. Following are some excerpts:
You will be the only person alive who has sole custody of your life; your particular life. Not just your life at a desk, or your life on a bus, or in a car, or at the computer. Not just the life of your mind, but the life of your heart. Not just your bank account, but your soul.
Here is my resume: I am a good mother to three children. I no longer consider myself the center of the universe. I show up. I listen. I try to laugh. I am a good friend to my husband. I have tried to make my marriage vows mean what they say. I am a good friend to my friends and they to me. Without them there would be nothing to say to you today, because I would be a cardboard cutout.
So here's what I wanted to tell you today: Get a life. A real life, not a manic pursuit of the next promotion, the bigger paycheck, the larger house.
Get a life in which you are not alone. Find people you love, and who love you. And remember that love is not leisure, it is work. Pick up the phone. Send an email. Write a letter.
Get a life in which you are generous. And realize that life is the best thing ever, and that you have no business taking it for granted. Care so deeply about its goodness that you want to spread it around. Take money you would have spent on beer and give it to charity. Work in a soup kitchen.
And think of life as a terminal illness, because if you do, you will live it with joy and passion as it ought to be lived.1
This message certainly catches the spirit of Paul's exhortation: "Be very careful, then, how you live -- not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity...."
How could we each write our own resumes? How are we handling the custody of our lives, not just the life of our minds, but of our hearts; not just our bank accounts, but our souls?
It's never too late to start. I look back on my life and realize I could have been a better husband -- a better father. I have wasted a lot of precious time. But Paul's message is not about engendering guilt for what could have been, or what should have been. This is about now. Now is the time. This very moment I can start making positive choices.
We can start in our homes where we have the most influence. "Speak to one another with psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord...."
I remember in my own home when I was growing up and my sister would spontaneously sing to me, "I love you, a bushel and a peck, a bushel and a peck and a hug around the neck." I remember my mother sitting at the piano playing hymns, inviting me to sing along and to memorize the words.
A home environment can come alive with good music. We don't always have to be talking. We can be uplifted by the sounds and lyrics of good music. Medical science has proven that cheerful music can lift the spirit from depression; it can lower blood pressure; it can stimulate the mind.
But be careful. Pay attention to what music is being played in your home. I may be out of the mainstream, but I cannot comprehend the value of some of the head throbbing drum beat rap sounds that shake my bedroom windows at two o'clock in the morning from car stereos. One mother recently discovered that the song her daughter was listening to, "Darling Nikki," described a perverted sex act and called Nikki a sex fiend. The wrong kind of music can lower our children's threshold of resistance, inciting evil or immoral activities.
On the other hand, there is music that lifts the soul, that inspires us to think more clearly, that elevates our mood. That's the kind of music to which Paul is referring. "Be filled with the spirit as you sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs among yourselves, singing and making melody to the Lord in your hearts."
This is the music that is a gift from God; the kind of music that can cheer you up; music that can slow down your anxious heart; music than can inspire kind thoughts.
I once asked a group of people how many played music in their homes. Not one answered in the affirmative. One said that the television was always on. Another said, "I know we should." Another said, "My kids are always listening on their iPods, but I can't hear it, thank goodness."
I encourage you to put more music into your home life. Turn off the television, turn on the music. Buy a lively Mozart CD. Memorize the words to hymns and recite them to yourself when you can't sleep: hymns like "Abide With Me" and "What A Friend We Have In Jesus."
When I read this scripture, I remember what Martin Luther said about music: "Singers are never sorrowful. Music makes people kinder, gentler, more reasonable. The devil flees before the sound of music."
In my heart there rings a melody! How can you be unhappy, how can you be angry when that song is ringing in your heart?
Be careful, then, how you live -- not as unwise but as wise. Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord. Amen.
____________
1. Anna Quindlen, "Commencement Address to Villanova University," June 23, 2000.
