“Walk in wisdom toward them that are without, redeeming the time.”
“Redeeming the time” means to make the best use of your time. Following is my understanding of this term: We are given a hint in the admonition given at the start of the verse: “Walk in wisdom toward those without.” Those “without” are people who are not part of the church. This reminds us that we are to be good representatives of Jesus Christ in our daily lives. I think of this any time I have to deal with a recalcitrant clerk. (Come on, you know what I mean.) We can blow our witness with an ugly attitude. The time that we spend groaning and complaining is wasted time and is not the best use of our time. Verse 6 gives us another hint: “Let your speech be always with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how to answer to man.” This means that we should be careful what we say to people, and in the attitude of how we speak. Ephesians 4:15 tells us how to speak: “But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into Him in all things.” I have really worked on this in my preaching. Even when I have to be negative (“step on toes”), I try to remember that I have four fingers and a thumb staring back at me. Being followers of Christ, it shouldn’t be too difficult for us to “speak the truth in love.” Notice that Paul wrote that our speech should be “seasoned with salt.” This means that we should not be apologetic about our faith. Love does not compromise our faith in Jesus Christ. We should not waste our time being sarcastic or mean spirited when we speak to people, nor should we be apologetic about our faith in Jesus Christ. There are a lot of things that come to mind when I think of “redeeming the time.” For example, since I have been really, really retired for the past year because of illness. I have to think about this a lot. I could spend my time each day watching the tube, or playing around on the internet. I do both of those things, of course, but I have made it a practice to discipline myself to spend the first hours of my day in prayer, Bible study and writing. (You can decide whether or not you think I’m bragging.) These hours have become a real challenge, as well as a joy to me. At this time in my life, this is how I try to “redeem the time.” Give some thought to “redeeming the time” in your life. Bro. Joe
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AuthorDr. Joe Beauchamp is the author of this blog and website. Categories
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September 2021
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