Verse of the Day Ephesians 5:15

"Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise"

Today it was really hard to pick a single verse. I was reading from 5:11-21 and it all fits very well together but I chose this verse because of my first reaction to it
Like DUH of course we should be wise and not unwise
And although I think that there's more to the verse than just that surface but I also think that Paul is playing at the obvious here
But lets start with the beginning
"look carefully then" what is the word 'then' there for. Well Paul has been talking about the light, being Jesus, exposing darkness. Paul is telling us that in order for us to expose darkness in the world and specifically in our own lives, then we are to look carefully and allow Christ to shine in them and expose them IN ORDER THAT we might be wise and not unwise.
So think of it like this. At camp there are plenty of opportunities to go exploring and at night time you definitely need a flash light. Now if you are in the middle of a forest and your shinning your light behind you or to the right or left then your not going to be able to be wise about where you put your feet. But if you let your line shine directly in front of you, then you can see how to avoid any obstacles. On top of that, if you have your light shinning in front of you but your not looking at where your light is how stupid is that, the light is serving no purpose at all
In the same way as we walk with Christ and keep Him at the centre of our lives He will expose our obstacles and make it clear to us how we can be wise, but how foolish it is for us to look else where when Christ has provided us with a clear way to go.
So step 1 let Christ shine in you and expose all darkness
step 2 look carefully at the path that Christ has cleared that you may not be unwise and stumble