Ruination via Alcohol

[Reformer]

Ruination via Alcohol

 Observations

    Drinking intoxicating beverages is not outrightly denounced by the God of creation, but drunkenness is. Having a so-called "social drink" is considered acceptable by many, for even Jesus, as well as His mother and disciples, attended a wedding at Cana where drinking wine was sort of "the order of the occasion" (John 2:1-11).

   Personally, I have no love for intoxicating beverages—don't need them, any more than I need a daily dose of Ex-Lax. I worked with alcoholics and drug addicts for decades, and I assure you not one of them would have become addicted to alcohol and ruined his life had he left his "social drinks" inside the bottle.
 
    I once had a brother-in-law—now deceased—whose biological system was so susceptible to alcohol that to even get a whiff of it sent him on a long drinking spree. On one occasion he was gone on an alcohol binge from his wife (my sister) and three children for almost a month. It was during his long stay from home Dad and I—not knowing he was on a bender—visited my sister and her three small children in their ramshackle country rental home. They had almost starved to death. Their plight was so sad we both wept.
 
    We immediately made a trip to the grocery store and replenished their food cupboard. After "squandering his property on prostitutes" and alcohol and was broken enough to be "sent to the fields to feed pigs" (Luke 15), he returned home "with his tail between his legs," carrying nothing but the clothes on his back. But praise be to God, he later conquered the addiction and spent the remainder of his days sober but in solitude, without his family. In his own way he loved the Lord, but the flesh mastered him for most of his years.

Biblical Cases of Drinking   

The stories I could tell you about the pitfalls of alcohol and drugs would astound you. Yes, even God's children are often the victims of alcohol and its after-effects. Righteous Lot, who lost his wife when she turned around to take a look at God's judgment upon the sexually perverted cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, had two daughters who wanted to have children, but no male was available at the time and location.
 
    They decided to get their father intoxicated and go in to him, "And the firstborn went in and lay with her father. He did not know when she went in and lay down or when she arose." And so did the younger sister do the same the following day. They both became pregnant by their father, and each bore a son "in order to preserve offspring from our father" (Gen. 19:30-38). This relationship would probably never have occurred if there had been no alcohol (wine) in their company.
 
    After the ark landed, Noah planted a vineyard, and "when he drank some of its wine, he became drunk and lay uncovered in his tent." His son, Ham, the father of Canaan, saw his father's nakedness—probably by accident only. When Noah awakened, he said, "Cursed be Canaan! The lowest of slaves will he be to his brothers" (Gen. 9). Ham was not totally to blame. Noah, although a righteous servant of God, should not have gotten drunk. He paid the penalty.

     When Moses was upon the Mountain of God with God for 40 days, the children of Israel became bored and corrupted themselves. When he came down off the mountain, he found them singing and dancing—and intoxicated—and bowing down to a lifeless idol in the form of a calf. "Moses saw that the people were running wild and that Aaron had let them get out of control and so become a laughingstock to their enemies" (Exodus 32). What followed was death to 3,000 of the revelers, decreed by God.

Another Case & Consequences

   One of my fleshly brothers died from alcoholism and cigarette addiction. He was always in denial, as most alcoholics are. I last saw him in 1985 at Dad's funeral. He was still drinking. I cautioned him again about the fatal results of alcohol and cigarette addiction and asked him if he had had his liver tested lately. I still remember his words. "I just had a physical not too long ago and the doctor said I was in excellent shape." He died not too long afterwards.
 
    By the time he entered the hospital to die, most of his vital organs were shutting down. One happy note, however, about his demise, according to our sister Mary, he asked for the Lord's Supper. It was brought to him by a local minister, and he died not too long afterwards. In his own way he, too, loved the Lord, but the flesh enslaved him for most of his years. Now we know why the apostle Paul placed drunkenness in the same arena of wickedness as adulterers, prostitutes, idolaters, homosexuals, thieves, and the greedy, and announced, "They [the unrepentant] will not inherit the [eternal] reign of God" (1 Cor. 6:9-11).
 
    My advice is simple. Don't start drinking "socially" and you'll never become an alcoholic. Don't seek a "temporary high" from drugs to "better solve your problems" and you'll never become a drug addict.

[Rella]

Buff,

Let me share a true story with you.

My dad's one uncle was an alcoholic and so my dad's dad was the total opposite.

When he married my grandmother the was not a drop of alcohol allowed on the property... to the point that my fabulous baker and cook grandmother never one ever used 'real' vanilla in her baking.

When she was in he late 80s she had a stroke and could not walk anymore so they found a place for her to live. Before her dinner they would give her something to "stimulate" her appetite. And one day dad's sister was there and asked what they were going to give my grandmother. I suppose it was a teaspoon or tablespoon in one of those little plastic cups and the nurse said wine. Well my grandmother heard that and clamped her mouth shut and no one could get it open. I have no idea what they did from that time on...

[mommydi]

My sisters and I were raised that even pretending to drink alcohol is a sin. We couldn't "toast" each other's glasses of grape juice, or we'd get it. Looking back, they probably didn't have to be so adamant about it because none of us are alcoholics today. I do not like the taste of beer at all and never drink it. Rarely do I drink a glass of wine - my last glass being about 5 years ago at an Italian restaurant.
My alcohol drinking consists of having a margarita or Pina colada about once a year when eating at a Mexican restaurant. Oh, and I usually make homemade eggnog at Christmas and add just a little rum to one batch.
I'm not sure one Pina colada a year, or 1-2 small cups of eggnog a year is "sinful" unless it tempts others?
As for my sisters today - the oldest one doesn't like the taste of alcohol, so she doesn't drink, and my younger sister drinks about same as me - rarely. We don't limit or abstain because it's sinful. We're just not that into it. Who knows if our little to no drinking has anything to do how we were raised, or not. For sure, alcohol can destroy lives and tear families apart, though. Truly sad.

[Reformer]

Buff,

Let me share a true story with you.

My dad's one uncle was an alcoholic and so my dad's dad was the total opposite.

When he married my grandmother the was not a drop of alcohol allowed on the property... to the point that my fabulous baker and cook grandmother never one ever used 'real' vanilla in her baking.

When she was in he late 80s she had a stroke and could not walk anymore so they found a place for her to live. Before her dinner they would give her something to "stimulate" her appetite. And one day dad's sister was there and asked what they were going to give my grandmother. I suppose it was a teaspoon or tablespoon in one of those little plastic cups and the nurse said wine. Well my grandmother heard that and clamped her mouth shut and no one could get it open. I have no idea what they did from that time on...

Thank you, Rella, for the brief history of your Mom.

[Reformer]

My sisters and I were raised that even pretending to drink alcohol is a sin. We couldn't "toast" each other's glasses of grape juice, or we'd get it. Looking back, they probably didn't have to be so adamant about it because none of us are alcoholics today. I do not like the taste of beer at all and never drink it. Rarely do I drink a glass of wine - my last glass being about 5 years ago at an Italian restaurant.
My alcohol drinking consists of having a margarita or Pina colada about once a year when eating at a Mexican restaurant. Oh, and I usually make homemade eggnog at Christmas and add just a little rum to one batch.
I'm not sure one Pina colada a year, or 1-2 small cups of eggnog a year is "sinful" unless it tempts others?
As for my sisters today - the oldest one doesn't like the taste of alcohol, so she doesn't drink, and my younger sister drinks about same as me - rarely. We don't limit or abstain because it's sinful. We're just not that into it. Who knows if our little to no drinking has anything to do how we were raised, or not. For sure, alcohol can destroy lives and tear families apart, though. Truly sad.

Yes, Mommydi, I too, have a few offspring who take an occasional drink, but that's the limit - and should be. Blessings.

[Alan]

I enjoy a cold beer after work on a hot summer day, sometimes maybe 2 or 3. It's refreshing and I don't like sweet drinks. I've never felt it was an issue. 

[garee]

The word wine is often misunderstood in Scripture. The Bible warns not only against drunkenness from alcohol but also against anything that intoxicates, controls, or fills the heart with excess—including pride.

Too much of any earthly pleasure can become harmful.

"Hast thou found honey? eat so much as is sufficient for thee, lest thou be filled therewith, and vomit it." (Proverbs 25:16)

Honey is good, yet even a good gift becomes harmful when taken without restraint. The same principle applies to many things in life.

A little medicine may benefit a suffering person, but intoxication is another matter. Scripture repeatedly warns against drunkenness because it clouds judgment and weakens self-control.

Alcohol has often become a gateway to greater sins and destruction. Rather than being filled with intoxicants, believers are called to be filled with the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 5:18).

The Bible also mentions mandrakes (Genesis 30:14–16; Song of Solomon 7:13), but it does not present them as an example of intoxication or as a pattern for Christian practice. Whatever their historical use, the biblical principle remains the same: exercise self-control, avoid excess, and seek the wisdom that comes from God rather than anything that masters the mind or heart.

Whether the temptation is drink, pride, or any other excess, the believer is called to sobriety, moderation, and dependence upon the Lord.

[Reformer]

I enjoy a cold beer after work on a hot summer day, sometimes maybe 2 or 3. It's refreshing and I don't like sweet drinks. I've never felt it was an issue.

Alan, I have no strong objections to taking a social alcoholic drink. Nor do I consider it a sin. In many nations it's a cultural practice.

But I have worked with many alcoholics who began their trip down the wrong road by taking an occasional drink. That first drink, then a second drink, and possibly a third drink are surely and possibly a gamble - a gamble that can be avoided.

[garee]

Alan, I have no strong objections to taking a social alcoholic drink. Nor do I consider it a sin. In many nations it's a cultural practice.

But I have worked with many alcoholics who began their trip down the wrong road by taking an occasional drink. That first drink, then a second drink, and possibly a third drink are surely and possibly a gamble - a gamble that can be avoided.

[Alan]

Alan, I have no strong objections to taking a social alcoholic drink. Nor do I consider it a sin. In many nations it's a cultural practice.

But I have worked with many alcoholics who began their trip down the wrong road by taking an occasional drink. That first drink, then a second drink, and possibly a third drink are surely and possibly a gamble - a gamble that can be avoided.

Well, if I haven't developed a problem by now, I'm quite confident I never will. 

[Reformer]

Well, if I haven't developed a problem by now, I'm quite confident I never will.

I pray you never will, Alan. God bless.