GOSPEL MESSAGE & RECORDING
In this hyper-fast world that we live in it’s hard to take a step back, to be calm, to be patient, to take time to think about what we want to do and how we want to do it. It’s hard because everything goes so quickly that we don’t have time to think. So, we become frustrated, weary, worried, anxious and even depressed. Is there a way for us to slow-down and see life as it should be, peaceful, joyful and calm?
St. Paul talks about it in the context of the second coming of our Lord. He says, “Therefore let us not sleep, as others do, but let us watch and be sober.” (1 Thess. 5: 1-11) Here, St. Paul is saying that we should be ready and alert at all times because we never know when Jesus is coming. Further, when He does come back, we don’t want to be caught with our guard down, doing something sinful. In today’s language, that’s what we call “bad-timing.” So that we don’t get caught up in the “bad-timing,” St. Paul said we have to be sober.
Sober, in our time, is often connected to someone abstaining from alcohol or drugs. But sober means a lot more than that. And I would go a bit further and say that we need to be sober-minded. It’s a state of thinking that our mind has to enter into. The definition of sober minded tells us that it is the ability to think reasonably and logically. It’s hard to think in such a way when we are living in a fast-paced world. But we as Christians we have the strength given to us by the Holy Spirit to control our worries and to slow down and to be sober minded. We have to be above the grain. God calls us to be in the world but not of the world. Therefore, even though the world is going crazy, we should be sober-minded.
To me being sober-minded means to have a balance in life. Not to overdo anything. But to have just the right amount which will help us to live life to the fullest for the glory of God. Let me explain this further by focusing on three areas 1) difficulties 2) pleasures 3) thoughts.
Be sober minded during difficulties in life.
We may be going through illness. Maybe it is not us but our loved ones. Or maybe we are not doing well in our career. Our children may be wayward and not follow the path that we set out for them. During these times, it’s so natural to become pessimistic; that is, think the worst. It’s a habit that we all have, but some of us are worse at it. We worry too much and it takes over our thoughts, emotions and health. It should be the opposite. Should it? The Bible says that God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of love and a “sound-mind.” A sober-mind in other words. Let’s learn to step back, trust God, not be so pessimistic and have faith that God will come through for us.
Be sober minded with the pleasures of life.
What are pleasures? For me it’s tied to things we enjoy. Life is meant to be enjoyed. But if we enjoy too much, we lose perspective of God and the divine purpose that is written in our lives. We lose sight of the ultimate goal in life, that is, to glorify and live for God. Let me explain. I like watching movies. I enjoy eating. But if I go above and beyond what my body or mind can handle, or rather abuse it to a point where it hurts me, then I am not sober minded. We all heard the phrase, “too much of a good thing is bad.” That’s actually true. Food is good. But in the wrong quantity, it can be bad. Alcohol is not necessarily bad. But abusing and not be able to control it is lack of a sober mind. Having fun with family and friends is a good thing. But if it takes priority above your relationship with God, then we are not being sober-minded.
Be sober minded with thoughts.
Thoughts, if we allow them to take harbor in our minds, can make us unsettled and even unstable. It’s like a race. The negative thoughts when they first begin to race in our minds, we need to get a hold of them, and then get rid of them. Once the thoughts start racing, sometimes they will be so far ahead that we will not catch up to them. In the end, they will run over us and take over our lives. An example of this is anger. If we are able to control our thoughts and thus, we sober minded, we will realize that being angry is not necessary and does not do us any good. Another example is someone said something to us, or someone didn’t acknowledge us, or maybe they ignored us, and when such things occur, we start to cook-up all sorts of ideas in our mind. It is at this time that we need to be sober-minded by thinking the “best of others,” rather than the “worst of others.”