Dissipation (Ephesians 5:15-21)

I think one of the most tragic words in the English language is “dissipation.” The image it brings to mind is waste.

About a month ago, the Mississippi river reached record flood levels, and in order to limit the potential damage of all that water, the US Army Corps of Engineers blew up a protective levee, allowing 550,000 cubic feet of water to spill out across 130,000 acres of farmland. The water – usually so valuable for crops, for generating power, for transporting goods and people – rushed out across prime farmland, destroying houses, crops and dreams.

Sadly, this is also what many lives look like. How often have we read of the incredibly gifted athlete or musician – the one whose potential seemed truly unlimited – only to watch the slow, tragic drama of their own self-destruction. It’s this tragic waste that Paul wants the Ephesians to avoid, and so – contrasting wise and foolish living – he writes:

See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil.
Therefore do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is. And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord, giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, submitting to one another in the fear of God. (Ephesians 5:15-21, NKJV)

Notice the comparison: wise, spirit-filled living results in joy that overflows in the form of mutual joy, unity, submission and thanksgiving to God. Unwise, self-centered living, on the other hand, is dissipation: a tragic waste. Let’s be clear: alcohol is not the culprit here, and – as Marcus pointed out Sunday – too many sermons have missed the point. The drunk is often just a more obvious example of dissipation. There are plenty of more socially-acceptable ways for me to waste my life.

Christ saved you and me and gifted us so that we could accomplish cosmically-significant things with our lives (Eph. 2:10).  We have divine power through the Spirit who lives in every believer.  Yet statistically-speaking, believers in America look pretty much just like everyone else.  We do not live Spirit-filled lives.  Like the mighty Mississippi, the potentially life-giving power to transform and light this dark world is dissipated, as we use up so much of our lives on things that ultimately don’t have any eternal significance.

Think about the transforming effect we could have, if we lived in a Spirit-filled way!  What if we studied God’s Word so that we understood what the will of the Lord is?  What if our hearts overflowed with love for each other and praise and thanksgiving for our God?  This is the work, this is the life God has saved you and I to live.

A few questions for discussion:

1. What are some “socially acceptable” ways people waste their lives?
2. Every believer is permanently indwelt with the Spirit.  So then what does it mean to be “Spirit-filled?”
3. What keeps Christians from being “Spirit-filled?
4. What are some things that compete with the Spirit’s priorities?  Keep in mind, these are often good things, like work, family, or finances.  Anything can become an idol, and what competes with the Spirit in you is probably different than what competes with Him in me.
5. What keeps you from reading God’s Word?
6. What keeps you from overflowing with love for others and praise and thanksgiving for God?