Skip to main content

Ephesians 4:17

So I tell you this, and insist on it in the Lord, that you must no longer live as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their thinking.
(NIV)
We live in a world that assumes that it has cornered the market on thinking. Christians are portrayed in the media as stupid or silly. Usually even when a Christian is portrayed in a positive manner, they are almost lifted up for their ability to live by this great blind faith. Which sounds nice until you really stop to think about it. I would say that the reason I have faith is not because I am walking blind, but because Christ has opened my eyes.

According to this verse, the ones who are living with a futility of thinking, is not the Christian crowd, but the Gentiles. A Gentile commonly is considered one who is not a Jew, but to understand it, the way they would have understood it in its context, consider a Gentile as one who does not have a Judeo-Christian Worldview.

Paul is telling us here that we should no longer think as people who do not view the world through the correct lens. When you have the truth, you should view the world through that truth. Paul is insisting on it because he knows where futile thinking can lead.

In our media, the ones who are painted as the most enlightened people are the people that believe that there is no absolute truth. "You have to find out what is right for you..." Many times it is the person who has accepted his friends homosexual lifestyle who is painted as the one who has received higher truth. The kid who abandons his parents authority is portrayed as wiser than his parents in the world's media. We get to behold a sentimental moment of truth when the girl realizes that the best thing to do for herself is to get the abortion. And we applaud on Oprah when the wife who has toiled for her children and her husband finally goes out and does something for herself.

I could go on.

Have you abandoned futile thinking? Have you run to God's word for real truth. If you have not come to God yet, do it. You will not find His truth to be shallow. You will not find contradictions in His teachings. You will not come up wanting for more when you delve into Him.
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Please add some additional commentary to this verse. Your input is greatly appreciated.

Popular posts from this blog

Hebrews 11:23

By faith Moses' parents hid him for three months after he was born, because they saw he was no ordinary child, and they were not afraid of the king's edict. (NIV) My first thought when I read this was, "Well, what parent doesn't think that?" Most parents think that their child is no ordinary child those first three months. I know that I still think of my two boys as extraordinary. I know that the creator God has designed them in a unique way. I know that they have talents that have been given to them to serve the King. I may not get the chance to see my son stand toe to toe with a pharaoh of Egypt or call down plagues, but I do think that I will get the chance to see them serve their purpose. I also want to point out that Moses' parents hid him for those three months. They didn't flaunt him, the chose a course of action that was very practical. Some would have you think that if it isn't flamboyant and take unnecessary risks, then it isn't fai...
Post a Comment
Continue Reading »

Psalm 139:17-18

How precious to me are your thoughts, O God! How vast is the sum of them! If I would count them, they are more than the sand. I awake, and I am still with you. (ESV) Saying that God's thoughts are precious is a two fold statement.   First, it is a statement of reality.  For David, God's thoughts had become precious becaus he was beginning to understand what God was thinking about.   Second, it is a statement of theory.  God's thoughts should be precious to us.  We should begin to put  a high priority on what God is thinking about us.  So, we begin to think of God's thoughts the way we should, which will lead us to a better understanding of reality.
Post a Comment
Continue Reading »

Psalm 84:3

Even the sparrow has found a home, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may have her young -- a place near your altar, O Lord Almighty, my King and my God. (NIV) Every time I read this verse, I get this picture in my mind of the author, looking with longing at the temple, praying for the day that he can be there, and while he is praying, he sees these birds, building their nests near the temple grounds. He looks with jealousy, wishing that he could have that same freedom. The ability to be close to the temple, to the dwelling of God. But for now, he will be content to dwell with God from a distance.
Post a Comment
Continue Reading »