Be Sober This Christmas

The Christmas season is upon us. It is a time for parties and gatherings. Our neighbors will invite us over. Our co-workers will get together. Many will take this as an opportunity to get drunk. Even some Christians will use this season as a reason to try a little, at least in moderation. With that in mind, I want to share with you some passages of Scripture from the ESV.

• For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned.—Romans 12:3
• So then let us not sleep, as others do, but let us keep awake and sober…But since we belong to the day, let us be sober, having put on the breastplate of faith and love, and for a helmet the hope of salvation.—I Thessalonians 5:6, 8
• Therefore an overseer must be above reproach, the husband of one wife, sober-minded, self-controlled…Their wives likewise must be dignified, not slanderers, but sober-minded, faithful in all things.—I Timothy 3:2, 11
• As for you, always be sober-minded, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.—II Timothy 4:5
• Older men are to be sober-minded, dignified, self-controlled, sound in faith, in love and in steadfastness.—Titus 2:2
• Therefore, preparing your minds for action, and being sober-minded…—I Peter 1:13
• The end of all things is at hand; therefore be self-controlled and sober-minded for the sake of your prayers.—I Peter 4:7
• Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.—I Peter 5:8

Regrettably, too many Christians argue about the line of drunkenness. The question we should be asking is not, “When am I drunk?” but rather, “When am I sober?” Not to mention the fact that several times these same scriptures say we should be self-controlled. Since the first thing alcohol attacks is self-control, we again should ask, “When am I best able to control myself?”

God’s reason for sobriety is that we need to have our full mental faculties open to His will and guidance if we wish to defeat the devil. Why would we compromise that just to fit in with society or to have a good time?

This Christmas season, I encourage you not to avoid drunkenness. Rather, I encourage you to maintain a positive sobriety. Keep your faculties about you completely. Don’t even start the path of alcohol’s control and loss of sobriety. Think clearly and stay on the Lord’s side.