Friday, January 8, 2021
Living with Your Eyes Open
“Therefore let us not sleep, as others do, but let us watch and be sober. For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk are drunk at night” (1 Thessalonians 5:6–7 NKJV).
When I first became a Christian, I met a few stick-in-the-mud believers who told me, “You know, brother, you need to be more sober.” That’s because I was always joking and trying to have fun.
When the Bible speaks of being sober-minded, however, it simply means to be clearheaded. It means being alert, sane, and steady. It’s living with your eyes open.
Some people say that Christians are out of touch. They would assert that we’re so heavenly minded that we are no earthly good. What nonsense. No one does more for the world than those who are heavenly minded.
So many of the world’s great relief organizations are Christian organizations. When tragedy strikes, it’s always the Christians who are showing compassion in every practical way, reaching out to people regardless of their beliefs or lack thereof.
Christians are the realists. In fact, I think Christians are the sanest people around, because we’re realistic about the problems and the solution. When the Bible tells me that humanity is sinful and that’s why humans do the things they do, it makes sense to me. It certainly explains a lot.
And if we were to simply take the word sober at face value, it means that we don’t need to be under the influence of any intoxicant. My mom was alcoholic, and needless to say, I’m not real fond of drinking. I’ve seen the devastation that it brings.
Now, I have compassion for those who are bound by alcohol. But I also know that the power of God can free them from it. On the other hand, I see a lot of believers being very lax in this area, and it can lead to some really horrible repercussions.
May God help us to sober up and wake up to the urgency of Christ’s soon return.
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