Years ago, in my police officer days, I got assigned to the local DUI Task Force. This was a multi-jurisdictional team of officers specifically trained to combat driving under the influence and a direct result of the work of Mothers against Drunk Driving that had formed in our community. I really loved this assignment because of our extra training and the fulfilling opportunity to really make a difference.
One of the most interesting parts of this assignment was the education I received to help me understand just how dangerous drunk driving was. And also the training in the law to apply the drunk driving statutes in my work. Many folks don’t know that drunk driving isn’t just alcohol related. The law actually refers to “impaired” operation of a motor vehicle. That word “impaired” is where the action is because anything that impairs a driver from safely operating his vehicle can be grounds for arrest under the law. That includes any intoxicant, including prescribed medications! I never will forget a specific case where the driver fought her DUI arrest stating she had not been drinking at all, but was, in fact, taking prescribed medications that made her operation of a vehicle “less safe.” The court ruled that, in fact, she was driving while impaired and upheld the arrest.
The parallels with our spiritual lives are apparent, especially in light of the wisdom of our Orthodox faith that calls us to a sober life.
In fact, I’ll go so far to say that this very call to sobriety in our Christian lives is the absolute key to both spiritual healing and spiritual maturity.
In today’s Scripture Lesson we get a perfect example of the consequences when this wisdom is ignored. In Genesis 9:18-10:1 we read the story of Noah and his sons after the Flood. The story is kind of amazing for it’s inclusion in the Scriptures, but then again the Bible doesn’t hide from us the darker side of our lives foolishly lived. That bodes well for the wisdom contained in our precious Scriptures.
The story is told of Noah planting a vineyard and then harvesting and fermenting the grapes into wine. It was his vineyard and it was his wine, so he drank it. It’s an old story; he drank too much and he passed out. Well, his younger son observed his father in this drunken state and went and told his two older brothers. The two brothers came and covered their dad up with a blanket so his shameful behavior wouldn’t be seen anymore. When Noah came to, he realised what happened and became angry! Again, an old story!
But, dear one, this is the path of intoxication. It impairs judgement. It clouds reason. It makes it easy to ignore warning signs before disaster. And it causes us embarrassment which usually leads us to overcompensate for our embarrassment by either denial or lashing out.
If this is true with chemical intoxication; it’s also true of spiritual intoxication. Those elements of our lives that impair our spiritual sobriety like anger, fear, resentment, lust, pride, ignorance, and the like; all combine to impair our spiritual development and make our operation of our lives complicated and even dangerous. We make choices when we’re “impaired” and we “wreck” our relationships, our careers, and even our relationship with God, and then we compound the damage by allowing the embarrassment of our poor choices to keep us from the remedy of our impairment through repentance. We find ourselves pushing further and further away from our only Source of sobriety because we are too embarrassed to confess or to admit we are not sober!
And yet, here we are in Great Lent with all it’s wisdom that precisely deals with those elements that intoxicate our lives. We are called to pray the Prayer of St. Ephrem where we specifically ask the Lord to help us overcome those intoxicating faults that enslave us to destructive behaviors. Intoxicants like sloth, despondency, lust for power, and idle talk all contribute to my spiral toward spiritual addiction and the slavery of the passions. But the sobering wisdom of the faith calls me to embrace and ask for the sober behaviors and influences like chastity, humility, patience, and love. It is when I’m sober in my soul that I see clearly all warning signs and all directions that lead me to wise choices and a peaceful life.
Today, we all struggle with the spiritual drunkenness that so easily trips us up. I can’t tell you how many time even a simple matter like lack of sleep has caused me to make less than wise choices. Moving towards sobriety in our spiritual lives takes both time and humility. It take regular confession and the willingness to be honest about our own lack of spiritual sobriety. It takes the willing choice to attend the regular meetings where sobriety is encouraged and the path to sobriety is taught. In other words, we will not be spiritually sober until we admit we need to be and then we follow up by learning how to become and stay sober! Anyone who’s suffered with alcohol addiction will see a familiar pattern. What is true of the physical life is usually true of our spiritual lives as well.
Are you spiritually sober? Are you operating your life “impaired” with the intoxicants that cloud your judgement and wreck your life? Sobriety is as close as your willingness to admit your need and as close as your knees are to the ground. This season of sobriety is given to you as a great gift. Embrace it and don’t “drive drunk!”
