You know, the devil is pretty tricky and I don’t think we always catch on. For instance, if I asked you to make a list of the most important things in your life, I’m sure all of you would put God down first. But if I asked you what you spend the most money on, where would God fall? Now, I realize that’s not a foolproof test of faithfulness, but it does illustrate pretty quickly what we prioritize in our life. Wise up, the days are evil.

Another problem is our pride. We don’t like being on the outside of a group of friends, family or co-workers. We try to blend in. But what compromises to our faith are we making to accomplish that? “I want her to like me, so I’ll join in on the gossip, even though I know it’s wrong.” “I know what we’re watching on Netflix is morally reprehensible, pagan and even satanic but I’ll let my family watch it anyway.”  “It’s just entertainment! I know where the line is. I can discern between right and wrong.” And there may be truth to that, but at what point have we crossed from understanding the world we live in to becoming the world we live in? Wise up.

The bottom line to this foolish living is that we so often put our will before the Lord’s will. That’s called idolatry. We’re idolizing ourselves and it’s wrong. So wrong that God condemns us to hell for it. Wise up! Look at your life. Stop! Think! Examine!

And then be forgiven. Because the answer to our spiritual ignorance is found in the wisdom that comes from Jesus Christ. Jesus calls himself the Bread of Life. He is the real life that came down from heaven. He brings to you and me a better word than the guilt and shame of our sin. He brings to us the message that he has overcome the world, which means he has overcome our sin. He is life because he became death. His death on the cross took the place of our own death. And his life of perfection has become our life. Sometimes when I read how Jesus responded to this or that person, I just step away and think, “I would never have thought to say that!” But Jesus did so that he could give that perfection to us. That’s the wisdom of Christ. Wise up with Christ’s wisdom.