1.10 Sobriety

Being sober means being awake and alert, on watch, and in control. If you are sober, you are clear-headed. It also means "not drunk." As a middle school student, I heard many lessons on the dangers of alcohol and mind-altering substances. Based on this list, I very well may have thought that every time the word "sober" appears in the Bible, it was in the context of a warning against drunkenness. That context doesn't apply specifically to every one of these passages, but it could be inferred - you can't be awake, alert, or clear-headed if you are drunk!

• 1 Thessalonians 5:8
• 8 But since we are of the day, let us be sober, having put on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet, the hope of salvation.
• The context here is a contrast to both sleeping and drinking.
• Ephesians 5:18
• 18 And do not get drunk with wine, for that is dissipation, but be filled with the Spirit,
• This passage does not use the word "sober," but is about avoiding drunkenness. 
• 1 Peter 5:8
• 8 Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.
• This is after instructions to older and younger men. This passage does not seem to be referring to alcohol, just to an alert outlook.
• Notice the similarity of the numbers in these first three passages - chapter 5  of each book, verse 8 or 18. That could be a helpful mnemonic.
• Romans 13:13
• 13 Let us behave properly as in the day, not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual promiscuity and sensuality, not in strife and jealousy.
• This is explicitly about drinking (& partying), exhorting us to use self-control
• Notice the connection with 1 Thessalonians that drunkenness belongs to the night - we are of the day!
• 1 Corinthians 6:10
• 10 nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers, will inherit the kingdom of God.
• Although false teachers at Corinth were teaching that sins outside the body would not mar the spirit, Paul clarifies that fleshly acts do not lead to a Christian's inheritance, but rather their disinheritance.
• 1 Peter 1:13
• 13 Therefore, prepare your minds for action, keep sober in spirit, fix your hope completely on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.
• This is similar to the other verse from 1 Peter, which is encouraging a watchful spirit... here we add the idea of a prepared mind, ready to combat false teaching (1 Peter 3:15)

There are two general groups of context here. In First Peter, the idea is a watchful spirit, alert for the schemes of the devil. The other passages are all more explicitly connected to the meaning of sobriety as not being influenced by strong drink. The two are not unlinked, though - we are much more susceptible to a loss of self control, to the influence of Satan, if we are under the influence of alcohol! One of the main reasons for drinking is to be more comfortable in social situations, because alcohol loosens your inhibitions and allows you to do and say things that you would normally hold back. Allowing ourselves to let down our guard makes us an easy target for temptation. 

From these verses, we can see what God tells us about alcohol and drunkenness: 

1. It is associated with darkness and secrecy
2. It is improper behavior
3. It can cause us to lose our inheritance
4. It causes us to be unprepared to fight Satan
5. It is dissipation - a waste of our life, energy, resources, and opportunities

Satan wants us to think that alcohol:

1. Is associated with social status, popularity, and wealth
2. Is something that adults, celebrities, and politicians find normal & admirable
3. Is not that big of a deal
4. Is something we can "handle" or tolerate 
5. Is worth the time, money, and investment 

I've been blessed to have few first-hand encounters with alcohol. I can remember seeing it in fridges at friends' houses in middle school, though, so the opportunity was there. This teaching served me well. I remember hearing friends discuss it a little bit in high school, and explaining many times why I felt strongly about not drinking. As I sat in the lobbies of my college dorms, walked around campus during game day, and rode the night shuttle, I was exposed to much more of the effects of alcohol and carousing. I explained even more and more often why I did not want to drink. The sobriety mindset became a minority, and people thought my choice was bizarre. (1 Peter 4:4!)

 Now, as a young professional, I have actually been tempted to try a drink - the idealized glass of wine to relax after a long day. However, I know what God would want me to do, because He has made it clear - He wants me to be alert and sober-minded. He wants us to avoid the physical and spiritual consequences of not only being "wasted," but also being dulled in mind and weakened against Satan. If we think that we can allow ourselves to slip a little, we are underestimating Satan, and ignoring God's warning. Even though I am old enough to legally drink, I am not to use my earthly freedoms as a covering for sin. (1 Peter 2:16) I am not to cast my anxieties into a wineglass, but up in prayer to God, who alone can carry that burden. (1 Peter 5:7)  Rather than wander away into worldly wisdom and sins of the flesh, I am to draw near to the Good Shepherd, who alone can give me the care and comfort that I seek. (1 Peter 2:25) If I want to be near God, to be like Him, I must be holy, for He is Holy. (1 Peter 1:14-16)