“Wine is a mocker, strong drink is raging: and whosoever is deceived thereby is not wise.” (Proverbs 20:1)
William Gladstone once said that “The ravages of drink are greater than those of war, pestilence, and famine combined.” As we come to a new year let us take a moment to ponder that no person who became an alcoholic ever truly planned on becoming one or truly wanted to be one. They did not start out with the thoughts of hurts it would cause to family, the harm it would bring to their health, or even the humiliation it would bring to themselves. They just tried one drink or drank one night. Soon it became more than just one drink or one night of drinking. A Horrible habit had been formed that would last and become a snare to them for the rest of their lives. I have seen the horrors of what happens when people become visibly ruined by the alcoholic. I have also seen the horrors of those who thought they had it under control and that nobody knew. But the distrust from loved ones and the wreck and ruin that followed proved that the Bible is correct: “Wine is a mocker, strong drink is raging: and whosoever is deceived thereby is not wise.” (Proverbs 20:1) So on this New Year I challenge you to be wise do not be deceived by the lies of bottle. It does not bring happiness; it will only bring horror, harm, hurt, humiliation, and loss of health to you your family and all your friends. Someone once sent the following words about his experience with alcohol to a newspaper columnist I hope it helps you choose righteousness and the true way of gladness following God instead of the alcohol.
Source: Bits and Pieces, May 1990
We drank for happiness and became unhappy.
We drank for joy and became miserable.
We drank for sociability and became argumentative.
We drank for sophistication and became obnoxious.
We drank for friendship and made enemies.
We drank for sleep and awakened without rest.
We drank for strength and felt weak.
We drank “medicinally” and acquired health problems.
We drank for relaxation and got the shakes.
We drank for bravery and became afraid.
We drank for confidence and became doubtful.
We drank to make conversation easier and slurred our speech.
We drank to forget and were forever haunted.
We drank for freedom and became slaves.
We drank to erase problems and saw them multiply.
We drank to cope with life and invited death.
Asst. Pastor Joe Jackson