Sobriety helps the believer “not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think.” In other words, it keeps him grounded rather than haughty. Pride is one of the greatest destructive forces in the world. Pride led to the fall of Satan and will likewise destroy the believer’s walk with the Lord along with his testimony before others. Sobriety is a companion to gravity (1 Timothy 3:11; Titus 2:2) and causes a believer to perceive himself as he really is. The Devil fell when he began to think more highly of himself (Isaiah 14:12-14). In his heart, he thought to exalt his throne and be like the most High. If the believer is not sober, he too can begin to think thoughts of pride. Just as it was with Satan, this pride will be his downfall.
The Lord, in His omniscience, has provided man with everything he needs through salvation and the grace that brings salvation. One might ask, “How does salvation teach sobriety?” A proper understanding of grace and salvation reminds man that he is completely inadequate in and of himself. Apart from the Lord’s intervention, man would be on a slippery slope towards the pits of hell. In his very best state, man’s righteous acts are no better than filthy rags (Isaiah 64:6). When a man meditates upon his salvation and the grace of God that gave him salvation, he avoids the snare of pride. He knows full well who he is and what God had to do to make him fit for heaven. He knows he owes the Lord a great debt and determines to be alert in his daily walk.
Our passage tells us that God is not in all the thoughts of the wicked (Psalm 10:4). It also points out that the thoughts of the wicked “are thoughts of iniquity” (Isaiah 59:7). Obviously, the wicked despise the Lord in their thoughts, but the Lord also despises the thoughts of the wicked. This is why we are told that “The thoughts of the wicked are an abomination to the LORD” (Proverbs 15:26). King David, whom God called “a man after mine own heart” (Acts 13:22), added that the thoughts of the wicked were against him for evil (Psalm 56:5). These wicked thoughts are based upon pride (Psalm 10:4). Conversely, a man yielded to the Lord desires to bring “into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ” (2 Corinthians 10:5).
