Monday 7 May 2018

Homemaking Mondays : To Be Sober



Welcome to Homemaking Monday!  
Today I'd like to elaborate on what it means to be sober. 

Sober means to not be taken with strong drink...but also to be aware, vigilant.  
Not given to an influence of passion...calm, controlled in the case of 
making decisions/ sober/ righteous judgement. 

Proverbs 20:1

Ephesians 5:18

It is a well known fact that if one is given to strong drink, their senses are hindered, or obscured.  
If we are to be good keepers of our home, we need to be sober!  
We need to have our senses alert so that we can properly meet the needs of our families.  
I know we are prone to being emotional, but we need self control in this area. 

I have heard much too often that mom's need wine to make it through the day...how foolish! 
I understand that the world views intoxication as a general norm...
but it ought not to be for the Christian.  

Titus 2: 11-12
If you are a believing woman you need to look at all things in the light of walking in holiness, not worldliness.  We need to shun the ways of the world and focus on what God would have us do instead. 

1 Thessalonians 5:6-7
Here sober is referring to being self-controlled. 
One of the greatest needs of a homemaker is to be sober.  To have her mind clear so that she can see things for what they are.  
Being sober allows homemakers to make good righteous judgements and wise decisions. 
We, when our husbands are not home are the protectors of our children and homes. 
We need to be alert -sober- so we won't knowingly allow things into our homes that ought not to be there.  
This goes for books, toys, media, food, and also attitudes/ ways of thinking. 
We need to be aware of all that our children are being exposed to inside our homes.  
We must not leave things up to chance.  
All that goes into the home needs to pass by Mom! (and Dad when he's available).  Yes, this even goes for what grandparents bring.  This may sound unrealistic, but I have found this to be true in our home.  
We don't allow books with witchcraft, sorcery, rebellion, fantasy, or the occult into our home, among other things of course.  That includes Alice in Wonderland and Narnia.  
  We don't allow toys/ clothes that are linked to TV characters or movies.  There is no need for this.  We have no TV in our home for a reason...and we don't need things to create a curiosity or interest in our children of things not beneficial to them.  For example nothing Disney or Veggie Tales enters our home!
It cheers my heart when I see my children on their own saying "no thank you" to things that are not welcome in our home.  
We need to be sober and watchful of attitudes and ways of thinking in our homes as well.
If we are not, rebellion and the like can slip in. Things like tantrums aren't ok.  

1 Samuel 15:23
If we are paying close enough attention, we can often see it coming and cut it off at the pass.  If we are to teach our children self control, to be sober minded, then we ourselves must practice this quality.  They are watching!  
I know we as women have lots of emotions, but we must learn to keep ourselves in check and not to give in to them all the time.  Self control is just controlling ourself.  
As I consider what it means to be sober, I am always brought back to this.  

1 Peter 5:8
The Devil wants to destroy you, your marriage, your children, and your home.  
Take God's wise council and be sober!

Love and Prayers,
Jennifer


1 comment:

Mary E. Stephens said...

Thanks for this thoughtful post, Jennifer. "Sober" is a word that is probably often misunderstood by some in the full scriptural context. It was good to read this in relation to home making. As you may know, I have bit of a passion for words and their meanings. :-)