Time and again, the Scripture calls us to soberness and regards it as one of the most basic qualities a person can possess. The apostle Paul refers to it as a state of mind without which progress is not merely difficult but impossible.
To the Thessalonians He writes: “Therefore let us not sleep, as others do, but let us watch and be sober” (1 Thess. 5:6). Two verses later he continues his exhortation, saying: “ But let us who are of the day be sober” (1 Thess. 5:8).
To Timothy he asserts: “A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, temperate, sober-minded, of good behavior, hospitable, able to teach” (1 Tim. 3:2). And nine verses later we read: “Even so must their wives be grave, not slanderers, sober, faithful in all things” (1 Tim: 3:11).
To Titus he insists: “That the aged men be sober” (Titus 2:2).
As for Peter, he appeals to his readers with these words: Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ” (1 Peter 1:13). And in chapter four verse seven he continues: “But the end of all things is at hand: be ye therefore sober, and watch unto prayer.” And before closing his letter he entreats:
Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walks about, seeking whom he may devour” (1 Peter 5:8).
All these entreaties give a clear message and should motivate us to seek this preliminary quality as something indispensable.
What is soberness?
We usually conclude that a person is sober when he is not under the effect of alcohol or drugs. But this definition is far from being complete. It can actually lead us to false or inaccurate conclusions, for surely alcohol and drugs are not the only entities capable of affecting our mind negatively; there are many other things that can reduce our mental faculties and make them dysfunctional. In continuation, I will enumerate some of them in view to sharpen your perception and widen your perspective. But for now let me explain what soberness is.
A person is declared sober when he can focus his entire mental faculties on what he is doing, and at a time when these faculties are functioning well, that is, not reduced by adjacent circumstances or influences. Consequently, anything able to diminish our mental aptitude should be regarded as a potential threat able to lead us astray as far as soberness is concerned.
Distraction
The first foe our mind must face is: “distraction”. For when a mind is distracted it can only function partially. Actually, most accidents happen when a person is not attentive enough, or not attentive at all, i.e., when his body is in one place and his mind elsewhere. Likewise most bad decisions are made when the mind is diffused and spread abroad. To expect good results when our mind is dispersed or divided is to flirt with idiocy. James could not have put it any clearer when he wrote:
A double minded man is unstable in all his ways” (James 1:8).
If at times we have difficulties functioning well when our mind is focused, what shall we do when it is bisected or absent altogether?
Frustration
Frustration usually comes when we are unable to achieve or change something, or when our progress is impeded by sudden misfortunes. It can lead us to a state of ill humor or even to rage.
It might happen when you are coming late to a church meeting and cannot find a parking place. You search, go from street to street, and finally see a man getting in his car. You ask him if he is leaving and happily his answer is affirmative. But 20 second pass, 30, 50, and nothing is moving. By now several cars are beeping, expecting you to move forward. Your patience begins to run out and suddenly, as unexpectedly perhaps, you find yourself screaming your head off while addressing the man in the car: “What’s going on!” you bawl, “Nothing”, the man answers, “I am just setting my GPS”. These sorts of things can happen when a person departs from soberness.
Hurry
To move faster than we can think can also cause us to depart from a state of soberness. When we dash to beat the clock, we easily become prone to forgetting important things. It might be our passport, our wallet, our umbrella, or in an extreme case, our wife. We might leave the key of the car inside the freezer, shatter a vase on the way out, leave the door of the house unlocked while rushing to our car, only to realize we have lost the key and can get nowhere. Such is the legacy of a deficient mind. But the person who keeps himself sober avoids such mental turbulence and stays out of trouble.
Panic
When alarming circumstances terrorize a person, all sorts of unpleasant things can happen. One can throw himself in front of a car, run into the pole of a traffic light, or even jump out the window of a fifth-floor apartment. Such can be the manifestations of a reduced mind.
The same could be said about wrath, in which case a person might say what he didn’t want to or do what he would have never done in a state of sobriety. And what about such disturbers as jealousy, pride, or envy?
Yes! Many things have the potential to drag our mind out of soberness, and this in such a way that abnormality becomes our lot and foolishness our inheritance. May the Spirit of truth help us to foresee the enemies of sobriety before they subdue us to their fate.
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