“For once you were full of darkness, but now you have light from the Lord. So live as people of light! For this light within you produces only what is good and right and true. Carefully determine what pleases the Lord. Take no part in the worthless deeds of evil and darkness; instead, expose them. It is shameful even to talk about the things that ungodly people do in secret. But their evil intentions will be exposed when the light shines on them, for the light makes everything visible. This is why it is said, “Awake, O sleeper, rise up from the dead, and Christ will give you light.” So be careful how you live. Don’t live like fools, but like those who are wise. Make the most of every opportunity in these evil days. Don’t act thoughtlessly, but understand what the Lord wants you to do. Don’t be drunk with wine, because that will ruin your life. Instead, be filled with the Holy Spirit, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs among yourselves, and making music to the Lord in your hearts. And give thanks for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
Ephesians 5:8-20 NLT
Paul’s admonition is to carefully determine what pleases the Lord. This is an important point to make because the human creature always skews toward pleasing itself. We tend to make the world in our own image (a perverse take on the imago dei) and then bend definitions of reality to support these ideations. Indeed, for many, God becomes nothing more than looking into the cosmic mirror and seeing one’s self. But scripture is very clear that this is not the case. God has a quality to him. This is because he is a being with personality. He is happy when we reflect his traits accurately, but when we confuse darkness for light or sin for righteousness, not only is he angry but he is vengeful. Beyond this, we lose proper functioning because we are made to operate as he does. We are, after all, made in his image. We must discern before we confirm. We must abandon old ways of thinking and doing and take on his deeper definitions. This will please him and bring us into alignment with our intended selves.
JOSH McGARY. COM 