Go Home, You're Drunk
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(There are five verses here, but I will only be looking at verse 7 with you. But there is a lot to meditate on and study in 8-11! Love, hospitality, and using our gifts!)
1 Peter 4:7...
"The end of all things is at hand;
therefore be self-controlled and sober minded
for the sake of your prayers."
"Be sober-minded." It's not the first time that Peter has exhorted us in this way in the letter (1:13), and he will do it again (5:8).
Our English Bibles add the suffix "minded," which is not wrong, but it's actually not there in the original language: It's simply "sober." At its most basic meaning, we think of it as a synonym for "serious," and rightly so.
So Peter is admonishing his audience (and us),
Get *serious* about your life.
Get serious about how you live.
Wake up!
Don't just coast spiritually.
You are staring suffering and trial in the face (4:12).
This is not a time to coast, or be passive in how you live your life.
Additionally, there is greater meaning to the word "sober." We often use the word in contrast to the concept of drunkenness. When we describe someone who is *not* drunk, they are "sober." It is true for us now in English, and the word had the same meaning in Peter's day and language as well.
So let's expand on our understanding of "sober" with this lens. Peter's word to us is to "be sober." Let's ask, what does it mean in Peter's mind to be "drunk"? And I think we get a couple answers when we look at the remaining parts of the verse...
1. When I'm not thinking about eternity, I'm "drunk.
Peter begins the verse: "The end of all things is at hand; therefore be... sober minded..."
We might be surprised to read a New Testament writer, who lived 2,000 years ago, say, "The end of all things is at hand." Obviously at this point in history, Christ has still not returned. So is it really right to say, "The end of all things is at hand"?
It's helpful to know that the New Testament writers consistently use this type of language ("the end of all things," "the last times," etc.) to refer to the period of time that was:
(a) inaugurated by the death and resurrection of Jesus, and
(b) will be completed with His return.
For example, earlier in the letter (1:20), Peter said this,
"[Christ] was foreknown before the foundation of the world but was made manifest in the last times for the sake of you"
So even though this period of time has lasted (at this point) 2,000 years, we like Peter are living in these last times, or at "the end of all things."
Keep in mind what Peter also wrote (2 Peter 3:8): "Do not overlook this one fact beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years is one day."
To us, it's been 2,000 years.
To God, it's just been a couple of days.
All that to say... we are living at "the end of all things." We are living between the First Coming of Jesus, and His Second Coming. This life, though marked by suffering (1:6; 4:12) is not all there is. Jesus is coming back! Eternity is long, and it is real.
And Peter is saying to us: the fact that we are living at "the end of all things" should cause us to live sober: with seriousness, with sobriety.
And the opposite is also true: when I'm ignoring eternity, completely wrapped up in this present life, and living life like this is all there is, I'm "drunk."
I'm confused.
I'm not in-tune with reality.
And I'm not thinking clearly about life - this one, and the next.
Peter says, "The end of all things is at hand, so be sober..."
2. When I'm not praying, I'm "drunk."
Peter says to be "sober minded for the sake of your prayers." In Peter's mind,
Prayerfulness flows out of this sobriety. And,
Prayerlessness flows out of "drunkenness."
When I don't pray, it's clear that I am unaware of my constant need for God. (Constant!)
When I don't pray, I'm trying to live life in my own power and strength.
When I don't pray, I'm living like a practical atheist - as if God isn't even there.
There's a word for this, Peter says. You're "drunk."
You're confused.
You're not in-tune with reality.
You're caught up in your circumstances.
And you're not thinking clearly about God, yourself, and your constant need of Him.
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What describes you today, my friend?
Is your life marked by this sobriety?
Is your life marked by prayerfulness?
Is your life marked by having your thoughts on eternity?
Or is your life marked by this "drunkenness"?
There is a common phrase in the social media world of memes and comments, when someone is out of line, or isn't making any sense: "Go home; you're drunk."
Maybe it's a bit silly to phrase it like this! But perhaps the Lord is saying the same thing to us today:
"Go home; you're drunk."
In other words, He says to us:
"Stop living like this is all there is.
Stop living like I'm not there.
Stop your prayerlessness.
Stop your drunkenness.
COME HOME TO ME.
My Son died to bring you to Me." (3:18)
And as we come home to Him, He will give us the strength to live lives of sobriety and prayerfulness.
Notice this beautiful phrase in 4:11 (Peter speaking in the context of serving): "... by the strength that God supplies..."
Our takeaway should not be: "I need to just try harder. I need to pull myself up by my bootstraps, and be sober in my own strength."
No, God will supply the strength. Peter wants to say to us:
"Be sober-minded in the strength that God supplies,
in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ.
To him belong glory and dominion forever and ever.
Amen."
- Joe