Doing Away with Wasteful Living

We are advised to live our lives carefully and not wastefully. A wasteful life is a life that is lived to glorify ourselves, our desires, and our agendas with no regard for the purpose of God. A careful life is a life that is lived to glorify God, to be what He desires, to do His will, and to see His purpose fulfilled in our lives.

When we are full of the Spirit, our lives become obviously different to anyone who takes notice. When we no longer operate on the limited wisdom of man, and the wasteful conduct of man, it is apparent to all that we are operating in a way that is distinct from everyone else.

Ephesians 5:5-18 gives us a lot to think about. It speaks very negatively about the “fruitless deeds of darkness” and strongly advises us instead to find out what pleases the Lord and pursue it. What do you think pleases the Lord in your life? Are you pursuing it wholeheartedly?

1 John 2:16 goes on to say that earthly desires are not from the Lord. If we recognize this, why do we continue to pursue them? Why do we continue to put them in a place of priority above what we know to please the Lord?

To begin doing away with wasteful living, we have to ask God to help us stop living wastefully. We need Him to reveal what are God-things and merely good things because there are things we perceive as good, that are not necessarily sins, but are wasteful because they do not accomplish the purpose of God in our lives.