What We Should Be Doing As We Wait for the Return of Jesus, Part 2

How are we to live in light of the fact that Jesus is coming back soon?

We need to sober up!

“Let us who are of the day be sober . . .” (1 Thessalonians 5:8 NKJV).

Having spent the first 17 years of my life in the constant presence of drunk people, I can speak somewhat authoritatively to this.

Different people react in different ways to the effects of alcohol:
• You have your so-called “happy drunks,” who laugh at anything, like fools. They think they are much wittier then they really are.
• You have your sleepy drunks, who spend most of their time asleep or unconscious after drinking.
• Then there are the mean drunks, who explode and throw things. I was around a lot of these in my childhood.

A Christian should never be under the control of the “spirits” but should be empowered by the Holy Spirit. Ephesians 5:18 says, “Don’t be drunk with wine, because that will ruin your life. Instead, be filled with the Holy Spirit” (NLT).

Here’s a newsflash for you: If you drink, you can get drunk, but if you don’t drink you will never be drunk. I personally do not drink at all and I have never found that I’ve missed anything.

You can be “drunk” or “intoxicated” by many things in this life. Jesus said in Luke 21:34, “Take heed to yourselves, lest your hearts be weighed down with carousing, drunkenness, and cares of this life, and that day come on you unexpectedly.”

“The cares of this life.” It is not wrong to have things; but it is wrong when things have you. There is the “thrill of the hunt” while you pursue what you want. Then, when you get it, you move on to another thing. We should be pursing God as we await the return of Jesus Christ.

To be sober does not mean being miserable. Some Christians are like “Debbie Downer” about everything. In the name of spirituality, they never smile or laugh. That’s not spiritual; that’s not spiritual,that’s just weird.

When Paul says we should be sober, it means to be clear-headed. To be sober means to be alert, to live with your eyes open, to be sane and steady.

Don’t be drunken and sleeping; be awake and alert!