Being Woke
Awake, O sleeper, rise up from the dead, and Christ will give you light. – Ephesians 5:14
2 For you know quite well that the day of the Lord’s return will come unexpectedly, like a thief in the night.
3 When people are saying, “Everything is peaceful and secure,” then disaster will fall on them as suddenly as a pregnant woman’s labor pains begin. And there will be no escape.
4 But you aren’t in the dark about these things, dear brothers and sisters, and you won’t be surprised when the day of the Lord comes like a thief.
5 For you are all children of the light and of the day; we don’t belong to darkness and night.
6 So be on your guard, not asleep like the others. Stay alert and be clearheaded.
8 But let us who live in the light be clearheaded, protected by the armor of faith and love, and wearing as our helmet the confidence of our salvation.
What is the origin and meaning of the term woke? The word woke has an intriguing entomology. Initially, in the 19th century, it was simply the past tense of “wake,” meaning to be awake or no longer asleep. In the 1930s, some African Americans in the US began using the phrase “stay woke” in their everyday language. In African-American Vernacular English (AAVE), “woke” is used instead of the usual past participle form of “wake,” which is “woken.”
The figurative use of “woke” as an adjective originated in 1962 when novelist William Melvin Kelley used it in a New York Times article titled “If You’re Woke You Dig It.” In the article, Kelley examined the constantly shifting street slang used in urban African-American communities and defined “woke” as well-informed and up-to-date. In other words, they are painfully aware and in the know.
Over time, the focus of being woke shifted to include sensitivity to and awareness of racism and discrimination, as well as other issues of social equality. Today, “woke” is often used as a catch-all term to describe left-wing ideologies centered on the identity politics of minority groups and informed by academic and social justice movements. The term is used by both the left and right sides of the political spectrum to support their agendas.
Being Woke is not the exclusive domain of the 21st-century political arena. It started in the 1st century AD when the children of the King were exhorted to shake off the lifelessness of their past ways and arise from the deadness of their former lifestyles.
Ephesians 5:14 Awake, O sleeper, rise up from the dead, and Christ will give you light.
The Greek word translated as awake is egeiro. Egeiro meansto waken, to rise up. It is commonly used when rousing people from sleep (Matthew 8:25; Mark 5:41, and Acts 12:7). Egeiro wasalso used to arouse people from spiritual dullness, lethargy, and indifference (Ephesians 5:14).
The Greek verb translated as sleeper is katheudo. Katheudo commonly refers to being physically asleep. It also connotes an attitude of spiritual laziness or indifference. That is, being indolent, inattentive, and unconcerned about sin.
1 Thessalonians 5:6 So be on your guard, not asleep like the others. Stay alert and be clearheaded.
The contextual background in 1 Thessalonians 5:2-8 indicates that some believers in Thessalonica had become lulled into spiritual sluggishness and were no longer spiritually acute but dull and lethargic. The Day of the Lord is coming, and they need to be on the alert (1 Thessalonians 4:16-18).
If they resisted, they ran the risk of descending further down the slippery slope of spiritual darkness and sin.
Hebrews 5:11-13
11 We would like to say much more about this, but it is difficult to explain, especially since you are spiritually dull and don’t seem to listen.
12 You have been believers so long now that you ought to be teaching others. Instead, you need someone to teach you the basics of God’s word. You are like babies who need milk and cannot eat solid food.
13 For someone who lives on milk is still an infant and doesn’t know how to do what is right.
REFLECT & PRAY
“When you’re physically asleep, it means you’re unconscious of physical realities . . .. To be spiritually asleep means you’re unconscious of spiritual realities” (Keller).
Father, keep me alert about what is happening in the world around me and laser-focused on accomplishing the assignment that You have for me.
INSIGHT
“As ‘sleepers,’ they possibly did not even realize their spiritual indifference. This is an interesting metaphor since most sleep is done in darkness. They were sleeping in the unfruitful works of darkness” (Hoehner).
Children of the King at Thessalonica were off course. Rather than living as children of light, they engaged in acts of darkness. They were unaware of the events unfolding in their world. To make matters worse, although the Father was always at work, they were ignorant and disconnected from what He was doing. They needed to open the eyes of their hearts, become alert to their circumstances, and be renewed. Paul issued a wake-up call to correct the situation.
It is incumbent upon every child of the King to be alert to the size of the time and understand what they are to do.
1 Chronicles 12:32 The sons of Issachar understood the signs of the times and knew the best course for Israel to take.
John Wooden is regarded as one of the greatest college basketball coaches ever, if not the GOAT. He led the UCLA Bruins to ten NCAA Basketball Championships in a 12-year period, including an unprecedented seven consecutive championships from 1967 to 1973. His teams also won 88 straight games, a record that still stands in the 21st century.
In addition to his impressive record of championships and winning streaks, Wooden is also renowned for his coaching philosophy. Wooden considered alertness to be an essential characteristic of success. He defined alertness as “be observing constantly. Stay open-minded. And be eager to learn and improve.” He said, “We must be alert and alive and be observing constantly, seeing the things that are going on around us. . .. We must not get lost in our own narrow tunnel vision and selfish ways.”
John 9:4 We must work the works of Him who sent Me as long as it is day; night is coming when no one can work.
We are on a collision course with the Second Coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. Children of the King should be kept from being caught unawares. We are to be watchful, sober, and ready.
1 Thessalonians 5:5-8
5 For you are all children of the light and of the day; we don’t belong to darkness and night.
6 So be on your guard, not asleep like the others. Stay alert and be clearheaded.
8 But let us who live in the light be clearheaded, protected by the armor of faith and love, and wearing as our helmet the confidence of our salvation.
Wake up and BE WOKE.
¯\_(ツ)_/¯
© Dr. H 2023
Dr H Reflections 