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April is Alcohol Awareness month, and it seems a fitting time to take a look together at some ancient wisdom on the matter of potential warnings and dangers associated with alcohol.
My source is the book of Proverbs from the Hebrew Bible (or, if you prefer, the Old Testament as it is known to Christians). The warnings of Proverbs seem to group themselves around three potential pitfalls. Let’s have a look at them:
The Pitfall of Defilement
Proverbs 20:1 says, Wine is a mocker, strong drink a brawler, and whoever is led astray by it is not wise.
And Proverbs 23:19-20 offers this counsel, Hear, my son, and be wise, and direct your heart in the way. Be not among drunkards or among gluttonous eaters of meat.
I don’t want to be a victim of anyone’s mockery, do you? I don’t want to get into fights I can avoid. And, I suppose if I find myself in a fight I can’t avoid, I sure don’t want my judgment and motor skills to be impaired! I don’t want to be unwise either either my life’s overall choices (“the way”) or with my choice of peers. We older adults like to caution those younger than we are about peer pressure, but in my observation, that problem of choosing unwise peers who can lead us to unwise choices does not simply go away with age! Even the term “social drinking” underscores the fact that, often, consuming alcohol, and sometimes overconsuming it, happens in social settings. The warning to avoid being “among drunkards” is a clear one.
The Pitfall of Devaluation
Proverbs 23:21 says, For the drunkard and the glutton will come to poverty, and slumber will clothe them with rags.
Proverbs 23:29-30 asks and answers some pointed questions. Who has woe? Who has sorrow? Who has strife? Who has complaining? Who has wounds without cause? Who has redness of eyes? Those who tarry long over wine; those who go to try mixed wine.
This speaks of loss of monetary value (I bet most who read this could tell a story of some friend or loved one who has come to financial loss over some sort of substance abuse issue. It’s epidemic in our culture). There’s also the enormous danger of emotion cost, expressed in the Proverb as “woe,” “sorrow,” “strife,” and “complaining.” Alcohol is a depressive pharmacological agent. That’s just chemistry, and the biochemical effects, while not understood scientifically by the author of Proverbs, had certainly been observed by him. I bet they’ve been observed by you as well.
And of course, there are also the physical costs. Red eyes and wounds you don’t remember getting don’t sound like any fun at all!!
The Pitfall of Deceit
Finally, Proverbs 23:31-32 offers this strong caution: Do not look at wine when it is red, when it sparkles in the cup and goes down smoothly. In the end it bites like a serpent and stings like an adder.
No one ever meant to become addicted. No one ever meant to kill or be killed in a DUI accident. No one ever meant to lose their career or their family. No one ever meant to do irreparable harm to their own body or mind.
But we’ve all seen all of those.
So be careful, or, as the theme of April says, be aware of what alcohol can do to your life, and proceed, if at all, with the utmost of caution.
And if alcohol, or any other hurt, habit, or hangup, is already costing you more than you ever intended to pay, please consider yourself invited to check out a ministry call Celebrate Recovery here at McGregor Baptist. You can call the church office at 239-689-2560, and get more information.
McGregor Baptist Church
3750 Colonial Blvd.
Fort Myers, FL 33966
(239) 936-1754
