“Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.”

Paul begins verse 15 telling us to be careful therefore. Therefore what? We are not to take part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather expose them to the light. Let Christ shine on us. Walk in the light as He is in the light.

Therefore..

Therefore do not be unwise. He doesn’t use the word ‘moronic’ here, but unwise. Being unwise is foolish, but it has a different aspect to it. It emphasizes that there is a wise way to live life, and the warning here is to choose that wise way rather than avoiding it.

So, we are to live as wise people, making the best use of time. Literally it means to buy back the time, to ransom it back to freedom, to noble and godly purposes. We live in evil days. The days have always been evil. But we are to be alert and wise about the way we live. We are to be deliberate about how we use our time. Don’t just fritter it away. Make the best use of it.

Therefore. Because of that admonition to be careful, God tells us not to be foolish or unthinking. Instead, we need to understand what the will of the Lord is. That means we need to spend time learning more about the Lord Jesus, and we need to spend time getting to know Him, i.e., reading His word, meditating on it, and praying. As we spend significant blocks of time in this way, we will understand more and more about what the will of the Lord is. In turn, we will grow in our ability to buy back our time to make it an important tool in living for God.