Many of us heard a parent warn us in our teens: “Don’t be past curfew. Nothing good happens after 11:00.” While wicked activities can happen at any point during the day, the valid concern isn’t far-fetched. During the night, people feel as if darkness can cover their activity, and accountability isn’t as apparent in our decisions. The desire to engage in habits we wouldn’t consider during the day should cause us to self-examine.
The Apostle Paul warned that the same is true for us spiritually. As we await Jesus’ return, we must not surrender to the deeds of the night, but we must stay awake, alert with things for which we do not need to hide. We ought to live unashamedly.
5 For you are all children of light and children of the day. We do not belong to the night or the darkness. 6 So then, let us not sleep, like the rest, but let us stay awake and be self-controlled. 7 For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk, get drunk at night. 8 But since we belong to the day, let us be self-controlled and put on the armor of faith and love, and a helmet of the hope of salvation.
1 Thessalonians 5:5-8
In a world where people do what they want, he calls disciples of Jesus to stay self-controlled. We do not have a free pass to do whatever we want. We ought to live with a desire to do whatever God wants.
He even warns about drunkenness. If someone is drunk, they are too intoxicated to think clearly. With the reduced ability to make wise decisions, drunken binges create many nights that are full of regrets. In his letter to the Ephesians, Paul continued this thought by stating, “Don’t get drunk with wine, which leads to reckless living, but be filled by the Spirit” (Eph. 5:18). It is challenging to be led by the Spirit if you are intoxicated with wine.
We have been saved from those dark ways, so we should not wander like those without light. Paul encourages us to “put on the armor of faith and love, and a helmet of the hope of salvation” (1 Thess. 5:8). Instead of exposing ourselves to danger, we protect our hearts with faith and love and our minds by maintaining the hope of salvation.
Are your deeds consistent with the night? Or are you unashamedly living in the light of the day? Consider your recent pattern of conduct, and repent of anything unfitting for a disciple.
Travis Agnew serves as the Lead Pastor of Rocky Creek Church in Greenville, SC. His most recent book is Just (About) Married.
