Paul’s exhortations in Ephesians 5:15-21 have been instrumental in shaping my understanding of personal time management and collective community life:

15 Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, 16 making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. 17 Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. 18 And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit, 19 addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart, 20 giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, 21 submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ. (Ephesians 5:15-21)

Observations from the text:

- Wisdom is defined explicitly in terms of time management (v. 15).

- The center of gravity in the discipline of time management is ruthlessly aiming at the “best use” of time (v. 16); which includes, I would add, a ruthless pruning of that which isn’t.

- The antithesis of foolishness (‘wisdom’) is knowing the will of God (v. 17) in our personal lives, the communities He’s placed us in and the generation that we live in. Discerning the heart of God is the genesis of practical wisdom.

- Paul connects being filled with the Spirit in verse 18 with time management in verse 15 (could it be that those who are sloppy with their time are superficial with the Spirit?).

- The way in which we’re filled with the Spirit in verse 18 is described in verses 19-21: in the context of community (v. 21) with a posture of gratitude (v. 20) engaging in the persistent declaration of the Word of God through singing to one another (v. 19).

Application of the text:

(1) Don’t squander your life through the foolish stewardship of the time given to you; (2) Do this by laboring in a community setting to center your life around the Word of God through the joyful and melodious declaration of it; (3) This works when communities understand the limitations of preaching the Word and the great value of singing the Word (while preaching is most definitely preeminent over singing, the place of the communal discipleship-oriented singing of the Word has been all but abandoned in our generation and ecclesiological streams; and much to our demise).