What would you do if you knew that it was the end of all things?
Peter in God's Word says to be sober and watch unto prayer. Paul in God's Word says to cast off the works of darkness and to put on the armor of light. We aren't suppose to live the last bit of our time in selfish, worldly lusts. We shouldn't be marking things off our carnal "bucket list". We are suppose to put the pedal to the metal in our prayer life and in our Spiritual warfare.
Paul tells us to be sober minded. Peter says to be sober. When you think of sober, you think of the opposite of drunkenness. A drunkard can be very prideful, arrogant. They can be impulsive. They can easily be swayed into questionable actions. But, the drunkard always says, "I will seek it yet again."
The devil is not going to slow down his attacks just because the end is nigh. No! He ramps up his efforts. You start living for self, being prideful, and rejecting God's will for your life, and you are making yourself devil bait! At our best state we are all together vanity! We shouldn't go on our way and forget that. We should be sober minded when looking at ourselves.
The next thing Peter says is to watch unto prayer. The reason we don't pray the way we should is because we don't see things the way they are. Laodecia doesn't see their need because they are rich and in need of nothing in their own eyes. Christ says blessed are the poor. Why? Because they cry out to God! They watch unto prayer. They are sober minded in their needs.
Every good and perfect gift comes from God. That's why we shouldn't trust in worldly riches. Riches fly away- bills, taxes, repairs, etc. It's here one minute, gone the next. We need a glimpse of reality. Christ says to watch and pray. Watch for the needs and pray that God sends the fulfillment for them.
Paul says to watch and be sober. The end of all things is at hand. We shouldn't be fast asleep, like Peter in the Garden. We should be fervently seeking God's face to know His will in our Christian walk. We should be sober minded in our prayer life.
Now, what does Peter say should be "above all"? Charity. Paul even says that charity is to be desired above all other gifts. Spiritual gifts are very, very important. I Corinthians 12 tells us about spiritual gifts, and then he compares them to charity in I Corinthians 13. The end conclusion is that without charity they are nothing- they won't profit you a dime! And Peter concurs with Paul's assessment.
There are many "Charity" organizations out there. People are constantly giving charitable contributions for a multitude of different things- cancer, disaster relief, help for the poor, etc. But, where there is money, there is the temptation of the love of money. God wants you to be a good steward of His money.
But, charity is more than monetary donations. Charity is an action that you have with others. Sometimes charity rebukes sin. Sometimes charity over-looks faults. Sometimes charity loves in spite of the unlovable character. Sometimes charity gives without expecting recompense. We should be sober minded in our charity.
We are to be the opposite of the drunkard. We should be humble. We should advance prayerfully and carefully on decisions. We should stand firm in what is right. And, we should learn from our mistakes. We should be sober minded.
