Be Sober Be Vigilant

1 Peter 5:5-9

Yes, all of you be submissive to one another, and be clothed with humility, for “God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble. Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, Casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.  Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world.

Sober:  to be sober, to be calm and collected in spirit also to be temperate, dispassionate, and circumspect.

Vigilant: to keep awake, be watchful, to watch.  Give strict attention to; be cautious, active.

     Many think because they don’t drink alcohol they’re sober and vigilant but yet are intoxicated with other things. The enemy is looking for those who are not vigilant; you can’t be vigilant if you’re not sober and you can’t be sober if you are intoxicated with anything other than Jesus.

     I am not here to judge the scriptural legality of whether one should drink or not drink, most would agree that being in a drunken state isn’t something that glorifies the Lord. In this day and age there are plenty of things we can use to inebriate ourselves without ever touching a drop of alcohol.

     I find it interesting that the instruction to be sober and vigilant is written with the idea of there being suffering involved. Suffering is usually what precipitates becoming intoxicated in the first place in order to numb oneself to the pain they are experiencing.  If we don’t handle our pain correctly we end up being the one the devil can devour. Given the scriptures preceding verse 8 I think humility is definitely a key ingredient in handling pain correctly. Contrary to what the devil wants us to believe, God isn’t mad at us because we hurt. 

Verse 9: Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brethren in the world.

According to the verse above, we are strengthened in knowing we are not alone in our experience; another one of the enemies tactics is to make us think we are.