This is your brain on drugs

Perry mentioned this morning Peter's command to be "sober-minded" and not allow our minds to be numbed by anything. I have talked to a number of drug and alcohol addicts who say they used drugs or alcohol to do just that: to make their problems go away, to numb their pain. "Life is pain, highness, and anyone who gels you otherwise is selling something." forgive the Princess Bride quotation. Let's get back to the Bible: "In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world." (Jn. 16.33) the world offers us plenty of ways to numb the pain that inevitably comes with life, or to forget our purpose for being here in the world. In fact, if we just follow the world's example we will become less and less mindful of God.

We can use lots of things to numb our minds: drugs and alcohol, of course, but also sensuality, amusement, a myriad of addictions, and more. In fact, any any cause or interest that we place in front of Jesus Christ and his kingdom will not only numb our minds but reduce our sensitivity to the Holy Spirit and our sense of God-given purpose.

In two places, the Apostle Paul juxtaposes drunkenness to being filled with the Holy Spirit. In Ephesians 5:18 he says "Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit..." Rather than being intoxicated with alcohol (or anything else that might "intoxicate" us, I might add), we ought to be intoxicated by God's spirit, moved to give all we are and have to him. This kind of Spirit-filled living will indeed make us look different from the world around us. We might even shock those in our culture by our God-directed living. Now that would be something!

Shocked, or Shocking?

Our "Culture Shock" series on 1 Peter addresses how we live in a world that should feel very "foreign" to us. We are citizens of another place (heaven), servants of another King (Jesus), and our primary allegiance is to another Kingdom (the Kingdom of God).

Some Christians are very shocked at the world. They see people with different value systems and behavior, and feel repulsed or indignant about it. However, I believe that we shouldn't be shocked at what we see from those who don't love Jesus. As Paul says in 1 Corinthians 15:32, "if there is no resurrection, 'Let’s feast and drink, for tomorrow we die!'" If there is nothing beyond this life, if our actions in this life have no bearing on anything, why not live it up? From our first parents in the Garden of Eden, people have chosen to behave in ways that are selfish, self-serving, and small-minded.

Instead of being shocked at sin and selfishness in our world, we should be a shocking example of what a life surrendered to Jesus looks like. If we live in obedience to Jesus, we'll live life the way it was meant to be lived. We'll be the most fully-alive human beings we can be. We will shock our co-workers and neighbors as they see the way we treat money, sex, food, work, ethics, and family. Do we look shocking to those around us? Or do we tend to get comfortable with the values of our world, so that we reflect our culture more than we reflect Jesus Christ?

"Be careful to live properly among your unbelieving neighbors. Then even if they accuse you of doing wrong, they will see your honorable behavior, and they will give honor to God when he judges the world. " (1 Peter 2:12)