“For by the grace given to me I ask every one of you not to think of yourself more highly than you should think, rather to think of yourself with sober judgement on the measure of faith that God has assigned each of you” Rom. 12:3 (ISV).
Foundation Text: 1 Tim. 3:1-7
GOOD SENSE OF JUDGEMENT (SOBERNESS):
The truth is that being sober can mean different things for different applications. The part of being sober I want to treat in this episode is the part of being in the right frame of mind. The ability to think properly and rightly. The place of making sound and right judgement or conclusions over a matter. The ability of not being carried away by emotional fantasies in the discharge of your duty.
Soberness is very important in our service to God. Why was Paul charging the Roman church, and by extension us, to be sober? This is what I think: it is difficult not to be judgemental or conclusive about issues. Nobody wants to leave a matter open ended. There is always need to draw conclusion on a matter.
It is true that we have been admonished by Jesus not to be judgemental, but being judgemental may not necessarily take you to hell. This is no fallacy, it is a scriptural reality. Take a look at that scripture once again:
“Do not judge others, and you will not be judged. For you will be treated as you treat others. The standard you use in judging is the standard by which you will be judged” Matt. 7:1-2 (NLT).
He did not say judge not that you will not go to hell, neither did He say judge not that you may inherit the kingdom. We are being admonished not to make the wrong conclusions about other people. If we do, we will receive the same kind of treatment.
Now, because the human tendencies of being judgemental is there, servants of God are admonished to imbibe the quality of soberness. This will enable you to make the right choices, decisions and conclusions.
The conclusion we give on matters has a lot to do with how we perceive things. My mentor will always say and I quote; “We perceive things not the way things really are, but the way we are”. The conclusion we draw on matters may not be the accurate thing, but we conclude on things the way we feel it ought to be concluded. This is why the servant of God has to be sober at all times. You need to always be in the right frame of mind to enable you make sound and accurate judgement. Do not always get carried away by emotions, strive to get all the necessary information you need before you draw your conclusions.
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(Transforming the World through the Word)