“Wine
is a mocker, beer is a brawler; whoever goes astray because of them is not wise.”
Proverbs 20:1
“Moderation is not the cure for the liquor problem. Becoming an alcoholic does not begin with the last drink, it always begins with the first. Just leave it alone.” – Adrian Rogers
Approximately 88,000 people in the USA die annually
from alcohol-related deaths. Our country spent $249 billion related to alcohol
misuse in 2010. In 2015, 27% of people 18 or older reported engaging in binge
drinking in the past month. More than 10% of children live with at least one
parent with an alcohol problem. 97,000 college students report experiencing
sexual assault due to the influence of alcohol. And those are only the reported
ones. Advertisers spend more than $750 million a year pushing alcohol.
Our former across-the-street neighbor lives a fairly
miserable existence. A 50-year old alcoholic, he lives alone. His parents took
away his vehicle several years ago. Living on disability with no job, he
meticulously blows his driveway every morning – even in the winter – before
beginning his daily drinking. He walks to the local gas station twice a day,
coming home each time with a large case of beer.
As a pastor, I’ve witnessed numerous lives literally
shipwrecked by the devastation of alcohol. I’ve listened to parents grieve the
wasted mess of their alcoholic children’s lives. Never have I seen the use of
alcohol make a life better. Though the Bible never explicitly forbids the use
of alcohol, the Scriptures repeatedly speak of it with a negative context. Usually
the Bible gives a warning as in today’s passage.
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