Click this link to hear an audio version of the below text narrated by SOTH member Jerry Rhinehart:
Ephesians 5:8-13 (NIV)
8 For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light 9 (for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth) 10 and find out what pleases the Lord. 11 Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them. 12 It is shameful even to mention what the disobedient do in secret. 13 But everything exposed by the light becomes visible—and everything that is illuminated becomes a light.
In today’s reading, St. Paul picks up on Jesus’ declaration that Christians are the “light of the world”. He begins by inviting his listeners to remember the darkness they once lived in before they knew Jesus. (This darkness is described in the previous paragraph.) The most important point is v. 11, “have nothing to do with the deeds of darkness, but rather expose them”. Satan will tempt Christians to think that we can do immoral actions, as long as it seems that nobody gets hurt or nobody finds out. We will gossip, speak badly about others, make under the table deals, etc., as long as we think our secret is safe. This is a lie, because God sees it all! Moreover, whenever we do something that would embarrass us if everyone knew about it, that secret sin is poisoning our souls. Doing the opposite, exposing the deeds of darkness, is tough work. It means tactfully but firmly saying, “we shouldn’t be doing this, or talking this way”. You may lose friends, but you will strengthen your soul! Read Mark 4:21-23 for a bit more on this.