Ephesians 5:15-20 The One You Feed Wins Grace 8/16/2009

There are two birds that fly over our nation's deserts: One is the hummingbird and the other is the vulture. The vultures find the rotting meat of the desert, because that is what they look for. They thrive on that diet. But hummingbirds ignore the smelly flesh of dead animals. Instead, they look for the colorful blossoms of desert plants. The vultures live on what was. They live on the past. They fill themselves with what is dead and gone. But hummingbirds live on what is. They seek new life. They fill themselves with freshness and life. Each bird finds what it is looking for. We all do.

That is the essence of Paul's teaching: In life, there are two birds. The one bird looks for foolishness and stupidity, the other looks for wisdom. The vultures seek to fill themselves with the rotting flesh of drunkenness and debauchery, the hummingbird sobriety, freshness, and the fullness of the Spirit. In the desert of this world you have your scavengers who are angry and ungrateful, but you also have those who hum a grateful hymn of thanksgiving. The irony is that you find what you are looking for.

In the fifth chapter of Ephesians Paul outlines proper behavior for good living. In our short passage he admonishes his readers to be careful how they live. He is brief and to the point in these six verses. Three things we must do: Be wise, be sober, and be thankful. It's a short list but if we can orient our daily lives around these three - be wise, be sober, be thankful - we will transform not only our lives but also the lives of our family, friends, church, and neighbors. Let us the look at Paul’s three admonitions.

The first? Be wise. Paul says, be careful how you live not as unwise but wise, making the most of every opportunity. Wisdom is earned not learned. It is knowledge coupled with understanding. Time alone does not grant it.

In the early 1900's automaker Henry Ford asked electrical genius Charlie Steinmetz to build the generators for his factory. One day the generators ground to a halt, and repairmen couldn't find the problem. So Ford called Steinmetz, who tinkered with the machines for a few hours and then threw the switch. The generators whirred to life. Later that week Ford got a bill for $10,000 from Steinmetz. Flabbergasted, the rather tightfisted carmaker inquired why the bill was so high. Steinmetz's replied: For tinkering with the generators, $10. For knowing where to tinker, $9,990. Ford paid the bill. You see, Steinmetz had what the repairmen lacked - an understanding of how the machines were put together. They had knowledge; he had wisdom.

Do you know what wisdom is? Webster's says: “Wisdom is the ability to discern or judge what is true, right, or lasting.” Paul hits this when he says: “do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord's will is.” Wisdom discerns between what is right and what is wrong. Wisdom understands there is good and there is evil. The wise are careful. They make the most of every opportunity. They understand there is evil in the world. And they seek the will of God. That is wisdom.

Second, we must be sober. Paul says, "be careful how you live. Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery, instead, be filled with the Spirit." Why do you think Paul follows his admonition to "Be Wise" with his admonition to "Be Sober?" In fact, as soon as he concludes with "understand what the will of the Lord is" he makes this statement: Do not get drunk on wine. He seems to be saying: The will of the Lord is sobriety. Why does he so closely tie wisdom with sobriety and foolishness with drunkenness?

I believe there are two reasons. First, drunks have been causing problems for a long time. 3000 years ago the book of Proverbs associated drunkenness with poverty, violence, and injustice, the three basic ills of any society.

Wisdom and sobriety go hand in hand. A drunk will find it difficult to grow in knowledge and wisdom, but the sober take advantage of each day's opportunities. The sober mind is an alert mind. Fill a people with alcohol and you will fill the world with fools. Fill a people with the Spirit and you will fill the world with sages. And this is the second reason Paul talks about wisdom and sobriety together.

Let me ask you something. What does a man do when he over indulges and becomes drunk? He submits himself to the power of the beverage. It actually takes over his personality and he does things he wouldn't normally do. Let me ask you a second question. What does a man do when he invites the Spirit into his life? He submits himself to the power of God! Paul does a crafty thing here. These two are profound powers: Drink and Spirit. Both have the power to control you. Both will change who you are: One for the better the other for the worse.

Paul asks a man who desires to be wise, “Which spirit will you allow to control your life, Espiritu fermenti or Espiritu Sanctu?” Both promise life but only one will fill you with it. Now let me digress briefly and say that the Scriptures do not condemn drinking alcohol. The Scriptures condemn being drunk with alcohol. If you need your fill of spirits, be filled with the Holy Spirit so as to have abundant life.

So then we must be careful how we live. First, be wise. Second, be sober.

Third, be thankful. Paul says, "be careful how you live, sing and make music in your heart to the Lord, always give thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ."

Let's see. We are to be wise seeking the most of every opportunity. We are to be sober otherwise we will miss many opportunities. And wherever we are, whether making or missing those opportunities, we are to be thankful. As Paul says elsewhere, whatever circumstances we find ourselves in, therein we should be content. It's like the story of the man who goes to his rabbi and complains, "Life is unbearable. There are nine of us living in one room. What can I do?"

The rabbi answers, "Take your goat into the room with you." The man is incredulous, but the rabbi insists. "Do as I say and come back in a week." A week later the man comes back looking more distraught than before. "We cannot stand it," he tells the rabbi. "The goat is filthy."

The rabbi then tells him, "Go home and let the goat out. And come back in a week." A radiant man returns to the rabbi a week later, exclaiming, "Life is beautiful. We enjoy every minute of it now that there's no goat -- only the nine of us."

It's all a matter of perspective isn't it? We can be grateful or we can be bitter. Listen to your prayers. How much time do you spend asking something of God, whether for yourself or another and how much time do you spend thanking Him? It’s all a matter of perspective. Are you grateful or greedy? Let me end with this story.

“An old Cherokee is teaching his grandson about life. A fight is going on inside me,” he said to the boy. “It is a terrible fight and it is between two wolves. One is evil - he is anger, envy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, and ego.

The other is good - he is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion, and faith.

This same fight is going on inside you - and inside every other person, too.”

The grandson thought about it for a minute and then asked his grandfather, "Which wolf will win?"

The old Cherokee simply replied, "The one you feed."'

Which one will you feed?