Let us be sober

But let us who are of the day be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet the hope of salvation. – I Thessalonians 5.8

I remember the days, many years ago, when alcohol was a big part of my life. I had my last alcoholic drink in June of 1976, a little over 38 years ago. For a couple of years before that drink, in a very real sense, controlled my life. I did what drink told me to do. I had weekends where I could not remember hours or even days.

I wish I could say that I stopped drinking because of conviction. That was part of it, but my motivation came from the fact that I didn't like anything else in charge of my life. I didn't like being out of control.

While I may have stopped drinking I still have situations where all kinds of other junk takes control of my life. Instead of drink I allow worries and fears and anger and desires and such control my days. 

In this passage Paul challenges us to be sober. This soberness is not just freedom from alcohol's control, but all the rest of these things. God's plan is that we not be controlled by any of those things. The great thing is that He tells us how to do it. 

Put on the breastplate of faith

Put on the breastplate of love

Put on the the helmet of the hope of salvation

Faith, love, and hope. Doesn't that sound familiar?

Faith, hope, and love remain at the end. It is the focus on those things instead of all the transitory things we face that are going to keep us sober-minded. If we focus on these things we won’t have time to be controlled by the other stuff.