More Word to the World

Prov 23:33 Thine eyes shall behold strange women, and thine heart shall utter perverse things.

Prov 23:33 [Under the influence of wine] your eyes will behold strange things [and loose women] and your mind will utter things turned the wrong way [untrue, incorrect, and petulant].  AMP

The main topic of today’s proverb is the exceeding quantity of troubles that accompany the consumption of alcohol. That is a topic that we will address more fully later, but in the context of our present topic, what not to do with our eyes, it brings up many other issues. People commit many stupid behaviors including criminal conduct while under the influence of alcohol. Today’s verse connects alcohol and sexual [mis]conduct. It is troubling that we can find on most days, an article in our campus student newspaper about a sexually deviant crime that was committed where alcohol was involved. These facts are common in most of those articles: alcohol consumption, late hours, left a party, went to someone else’s dorm, and sexual assault occurred. Proverbs reminds us that while drunk, “thine eyes shall behold strange women.” “Strange women” means, sexually immoral women. Keeping in mind that we are discussing advice to a son, the advice that comes out of all this is: stay away from alcohol for it warps your vision; it causes you to see things and to pursue conduct that you would not when sober. Much regret, damaged lives, and a painfully persistent felony record are often the end results of this dangerous combination. Stay away from it.

Eccl 12:1 Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth, while the evil days come not, nor the years draw nigh, when thou shalt say, I have no pleasure in them;

Eccl 12:1 Don’t let the excitement of youth cause you to forget your Creator. Honor him in your youth before you grow old and say, “Life is not pleasant anymore.” NLT

Chapter twelve continues the topic of advice to youth. The recurring theme of the earlier part of chapter eleven was an emphatic, “Enjoy life!” However, to enjoy life to the fullest extent, we must not attempt to enjoy it independent of the Author of life. To obtain the greatest pleasure man can enjoy, we must live in remembrance that we were created for His pleasure. One writer said, “Have a blast while you last!” With that comes Solomon’s warning to remain anchored to the Rock of Ages. With the wisdom of verse ten still in mind, “put away pain from your body,” think of today’s advice this way. Alcohol brings a temporal high that includes a very painful low—like a splitting hangover headache and clutching the toilet for stability while the drinker’s body convulses in painful rejection of the alcohol. Spice, ecstasy, meth, cocaine, marijuana, and others, all have their short-term thrust of pleasure but bring about painful and long-term results (Google the phrase, “meth mouth” for an example of this). Do you want true and lasting pleasure and life in abundance? The answer is to honor your creator and put away self-inflicted pain. More on this next time.

Eccl 2:3 I sought in mine heart to give myself unto wine, yet acquainting mine heart with wisdom; and to lay hold on folly, till I might see what was that good for the sons of men, which they should do under the heaven all the days of their life.

The last time we read how Solomon’s experiment with comedy failed to bring him satisfaction. In today’s verse, he begins a long list of other experiments he tried in his pursuit of pleasure. The first is a “controlled” experiment with alcohol. Solomon said that throughout this experiment with a mind-altering drug, he remained in control with his mind. That may mean that he sought to taste as many varieties of alcoholic drinks that his unlimited money supply could purchase, yet at the same time, carefully controlling his consumption to not get drunk. He tried to obtain just enough of a high so that he could “lay hold on folly” (have a good time) and try to find pleasure in yet another “under the heaven” variety of pleasure with which he has been experimenting. This is the same argument that many drinkers use to justify their own experiments with alcohol. However, after he lists several other experiments, he sums up the results of them all: “So now I hate life!” v. 17. Contrary to deceptive marketing, alcohol does not and cannot deliver the good life—just more regret.

In our pursuit of living for God, we are to be driven by the Spirit that lives within us. It is called “walking in the Spirit.” We are to be continually filled with the Spirit. In the following verse, the phrase “be filled” has a meaning that translates from the Greek more correctly as, “be being filled” or continually filled. It is like consuming food and water. We have to continue being filled in order to survive. The same is true of the Spirit. We must continually fill up with the Spirit.

Eph 5:18 And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit;

But here in this verse, we see that what stands at opposition to being Spirit filled is being drunk with wine. Why? Because the alcohol has a controlling influence and leads the drinker by its own power. Paul described some of that here:

1 Tim 3:3 Not given to wine, no striker, not greedy of filthy lucre; but patient, not a brawler, not covetous;

So to qualify as a Spirit-driven candidate for leadership in the kingdom, we must stay away from that misguided influence and control:

Titus 1:7 For a bishop must be blameless, as the steward of God; not selfwilled, not soon angry, not given to wine, no striker, not given to filthy lucre;

The destructive results of alcohol consumption are seen over and over again all around us. Solomon observed this truth:

Prov 23:21 For the drunkard and the glutton shall come to poverty: and drowsiness shall clothe a man with rags.

Some people say they do not have enough money to pay their rent or to provide proper food or clothing for their family, but they have enough to purchase alcohol, cigarettes, and lottery tickets. Why? Because they have become led by another power other than God. Let the Spirit be the controlling influence not some chemical substitute. That is the pursuit of someone who wants to live for God.

We conclude this topic today on “How can I live for God?” and tomorrow will begin a very difficult subject: holiness in our talk.

Peter reminded us that as servants of Christ, we are a “royal priesthood” (1 Peter 2:9). There are some ways of our priesthood that we can learn from priestly instructions in the Old Testament. For instance, the priests had a prohibition against drinking:

Lev 10:8-9
8 And the LORD spake unto Aaron, saying,
9 Do not drink wine nor strong drink, thou, nor thy sons with thee, when ye go into the tabernacle of the congregation, lest ye die: it shall be a statute for ever throughout your generations:

Years after Aaron, Isaiah rose up to repeat that prohibition and explain why it is important. Their vision and judgment are impaired:

Isa 28:7 But they also have erred through wine, and through strong drink are out of the way; the priest and the prophet have erred through strong drink, they are swallowed up of wine, they are out of the way through strong drink; they err in vision, they stumble in judgment.

In the days of Jeremiah, he also mentioned the prohibition and noted a family that was very committed to it:

Jer 35:5-6
5 And I set before the sons of the house of the Rechabites pots full of wine, and cups, and I said unto them, Drink ye wine.
6 But they said, We will drink no wine: for Jonadab the son of Rechab our father commanded us, saying, Ye shall drink no wine, neither ye, nor your sons for ever:

Tomorrow we will look at companion verses in the New Testament.

Should someone who has a desire to please God be a consumer of alcoholic beverages?

Some will do drink alcoholic beverages will point to some passages of where Noah, Jesus, or Timothy drank wine and infer that drinking is acceptable for us. Especially considering that Jesus turned water into wine on the occasion of a wedding.

But then on the side of abstinence, there are many passages that speak of the evils of alcohol and even forbid its use. What is the proper interpretation and application of the subject for someone who is simply hungry to live in obedience to God? The best interpretation of these passages will lead one to abstinence.

First it is important to remember that the same words that are translated “wine” in the Old and New Testaments can refer to either unfermented or fermented fruit drinks. The distinguishing factor is where some references are to “new wine” (unfermented) or to a passage that refers to drinking that leads to drunkenness (fermented).

Let us look at some principles on the subject that help us decide. Consider he plight of this poor soul who took the first drink and was led down the path to drunkenness.

Prov 23:31-35
31 Look not thou upon the wine when it is red, when it giveth his colour in the cup, when it moveth itself aright.
32 At the last it biteth like a serpent, and stingeth like an adder.
33 Thine eyes shall behold strange women, and thine heart shall utter perverse things.
34 Yea, thou shalt be as he that lieth down in the midst of the sea, or as he that lieth upon the top of a mast .
35 They have stricken me, shalt thou say, and I was not sick; they have beaten me, and I felt it not: when shall I awake? I will seek it yet again.

Another question a maturing Christian will honestly consider is, “Should I drink liquor or other alcoholic beverages? Depending on your background, this may or not be important. But for those of us who have had to deal with the strong influence/control of the stuff, it can be a defining question. What about it? Is drinking alcohol ok? The best answer is no. Let’s examine why.

We are King’s kids—that makes us princes and princesses!

Prov 31:4 It is not for kings, O Lemuel, it is not for kings to drink wine; nor for princes strong drink:

Strong drink has power over the drinker and also indirectly influences the lives of many others. As “princes”, we remember that we are King’s kids and must live responsibly under control over our actions. Our actions DO influence others.

More next time…