Just A Little Drink: Why Not?

So drinking is your own business? Indeed it is! At least up to a point.

You're right, man has used alcohol for thousands of years to brace up the faint, to cheer up festivities, to drown out his problems, etc. So you say that moderate drinking is all right.

Moderate drinking? When does moderate drinking develop into intemperance? You can go to any rescue mission and hear the same story over and over. The person had money, prestige, a good job, a fine family, but then all at once, or so it seemed, he was on the skids. It all started out with a little drink that "won't/wouldn't hurt." The very thing that had made him friends had turned on him and had caused his ruination. The biblical warning, "Wine is a mocker, strong drink is raging: and whosoever is deceived thereby is not wise" (Proverbs 20:1), has/had now been proven in his very own life. And the drink demon had not been satisfied until the victim hit rock bottom.

Many traffic accidents are caused by those whose judgment had been impaired by alcohol. Rosita Hernandez hadn't drank much; she could still drive her car. She did, and forced another car into the path of an oncoming truck. The result: four cars piled up, six people dead, and a whole family wiped out. Rosita survived and went free, walking away from the carnage unhurt... except for the responsibility.

Kenneth, a minister on his way to a mission, was driving his car on the right side of the freeway. Then, without warning, a car came hurtling through the snow flurry, head-on, killing him, his wife, and another passenger, as well as injuring their little son for life.

So it's your own business if you drink? Well, that's what thousands of drinking drivers say. The victims of such drivers think differently... at least those who are still able to think.

It's your own business if you drink? What about a wife, a husband, children? How much abuse, neglect, shame, and insecurity do they suffer when you drink? Many a promising marriage has been wrecked as a result of alcohol.

The young man and woman, pure and well-intentioned, after a few drinks lost their inhibitions, and the blight of sin set in to haunt them for the rest of their lives.

But you say you can quit anytime you want to. You are sure you will quite before you plunge too deeply. But wait! Two young women, out to see the magnificent Grand Canyon, stepped out past the guardrail to the very edge. A little gust of wind came, and one of them plunged to her death on the rocks below. Avoidable? Yes... if they had followed the safety rules.

He who drinks is breaking the rules, is leaving the guardrail of safety behind, and is out on his own. It's the first step into sin. The plunge to the point of no return is now possible at any time.

It is sin. The Bible warns against drinking. It says:

"Who hath woe? Who hath sorrow? Who hath contentions? Who hath babbling? Who hath wounds without cause? Who hath redness of eyes? They that tarry long at the wine; they that go to seek mixed wine. Look not thou upon the wine when it is red, when it giveth his colour in the cup, when it moveth itself aright. At the last it biteth like a serpent, and stingeth like an adder," (Proverbs 23:29-32).

The Bible, however, offers hope to those enslaved by alcohol. Joe is an example of the person who took advantage of the promises in the Bible. Joe had brought shame to himself and to his family. He was on his way to becoming a slave to drink. Then one day he remembered the words of Jesus: "Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest," (Matthew 11:28).

Joe prayed, committing his life to God. With forgiveness came peace in his heart. His burden of sin disappeared, his desire for (strong) drink had left him, and he was on his way to a new life.

So you can drink if you want to! That's your responsibility, your sin, and in the end, your remorse.

Instead, you can do like Joe did. The Lord has called you to holy living. Your life is not altogether your own. You have to give an account of what you do to your mind, body, spirit and soul. Again, this verse from the Bible: "Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?" (1 Corinthians 3:16). Alcohol destroys; but God's Holy Spirit builds. Living for God helps develop the best in you; but alcohol has a tendency to bring out the worst in you.

Call upon the Lord; ask for His forgiveness, and get busy working with His people. He will fulfill the deepest desires of your heart.

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Published by the Church of God in Christ, Men