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I meet with several men every Monday morning. Our group has been getting together for several years now. I have to tell you, this get together is a highlight of my week. The conversations we have together set the tone for how I end up viewing my life the rest of the entire week. In my opinion, this is what Church is suppose to look like.
One day we were talking about an interesting subject. The topic we hit on was that of sobriety. Our conversation began as you might have thought it would. As we considered the issues that have worked to control us through substances that we chose to introduce as coping mechanisms in our lives, some interesting thoughts were brought to the table. Our conversation brought up topics that ranged from twelve step programs to self help initiatives.
One of my friends started talking about sobriety as something more than just kicking a bad habit in our lives. He started talking about sobriety as something more than just being free from some addiction. He was making sobriety out to be a lifestyle of living that made me think really hard about many of the ways I deal with issues that come against me.
You see, sobriety is really about being mentally healthy. It is about getting free of the things that control us now and, at the same time, recognizing those things in our life that might make it easy to trade one habit for another. What I loved about our conversation wasn't that is was dealing with right or wrong. This conversation really helped me to see how the word sobriety has a power to it that really can make victor living something easier to grasp.
As my friend was describing sobriety in the context of being mentally strong I remembered a verse from the Bible. Take a look at that verse with me now.
The end of all things is near. Therefore be alert and of sober mind so that you may pray. 1 Peter 4:7 (NIV)
I found it interesting that my friend was talking about sobriety in terms of being mentally healthy and here is the Bible linking the word sober with mind. Later, I did some digging into this concept and found that many times in the Bible the words sober and mind are tied together. I love these, so called, "random coincidences."
Sober has so much more to do with the mind than it does with not abusing substances. Being sober minded is something God takes seriously. I think we should as well. Let's take a closer look at what it might mean to be sober minded as we dive into several verses from the Bible that use this term.
The first characteristic of being sober minded that I saw in the Bible was that of being watchful. In 1 Peter 5:8 it says that we are to be watchful because Satan is prowling around looking to devour us. In 1 Thessalonians 5:6 we are warned to keep awake. It is when we put our brains on auto-pilot that we miss the signs of evil threatening our very existence. Victim thinking happens when we fail to pay attention to what is going on around us. It happens just as easily when we choose to react to things based on victim induced patters instituted before we were in a place where we could adequately process what was happening to us.
Sober minded, to me, is all about being ever attentive. It is going through life with our eyes opened. It is learning how to recognize when we are in positions where negative patters are about to be reinforced with failed coping mechanisms. God has given us a powerful tool in the human brain. Sober minded happens when we let our brain loose to help us move in directions that combat past patterns and establish new ways of dealing with the challenges that come our way.
The second characteristic of being sober minded from God's Word is summed up by preparation. In 1 Peter 1:13, it says to prepare our minds for action. God knew that our advisory would do all he could to lull us to sleep. It is when we turn to well worn patters of reacting to situations in life that preparation goes out the window. Why do we need to prepare if we already know how we are going to react?
Problem is that our taught way of reacting has failed us so many times in the past. We can't be sober minded by just reacting to what comes our way. It is when the victor considers the situations that come their way from the context of God's plan that we can react in sober minded ways. We prepare as we do what it takes to draw closer to our Lord. It is as we get to know this God better that our minds are prepared for a sobriety that changes our behavior.
The last characteristic of being sober minded I want to touch on today is that of self-control. Of the three characteristics, self-control is the hardest to implement because it is entirely up to us to be involved in this process. Where being watchful and preparation is usually done with a concerted effort between God and us, self-control is something we have to initiate ourselves.
Self-control is something that takes will power. Our souls have to be involved if self-control is to be expected. Problem is that relying on the soul alone is not a fool-proof strategy when it comes to victor living. We still need the direction and empowerment of the human and divine spirit in order to make self-control all it can be in our lives. Even with this characteristic, we are not alone in making sober minded happen, but it is up to us to get the ball rolling.
That's all we have time for in today's presentation. Tomorrow we will take a look at some ways we can make being sober minded more of a part of our daily life. In the meantime, stay attentive. Be prepared. Initiate as much self-control as God empowers you to be able to do. You are God's Child. This means that you have the mind of Christ. Use that amazing gift to make sober minded be what fuels your victor status in all you do today.
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