Alexander the Great was one of the greatest military generals who ever lived, conquering almost the entire known world with his vast army. One night during a campaign, he couldn’t sleep and left his tent to walk around the campgrounds.
As he was walking, he came across a soldier asleep on guard duty – a serious offense. The penalty for falling asleep on guard duty was, in some cases, death. The commanding officer sometimes poured kerosene on the sleeping soldier and lit it.
The soldier began to wake up as Alexander approached him. Recognizing who was standing in front of him, the young man feared for his life.
“Do you know what the penalty is for falling asleep on guard duty?” Alexander asked the soldier.
“Yes, sir,” the soldier responded in a quivering voice.
“What’s your name?” demanded the General.
“Alexander, sir.”
Alexander repeated the question: “What’s your name?”
“My name is Alexander, sir.”
Alexander looked the soldier straight in the eye and said, “Soldier, either change your name or change your conduct.
Paul wrote in 1 Thes. 5:6-8 So then let us not sleep, as others do, but let us keep awake and be sober.7 For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk, are drunk at night.8 But since we belong to the day, let us be sober, having put on the breastplate of faith and love, and for a helmet the hope of salvation.
