Being Successful Wisdom Regarding Alcohol

Being Successful

Wisdom Regarding Alcohol

With nearly two thirds of the U.S. adults drinking and

3 out of 10 adults at risk of problems from drinking

What did the Bible say about Alcohol over 2000 years ago?

Is the Bible’s wisdom pertaining to Alcohol still wise today?

Wisdom Regarding Alcohol

Warning labels…

 They are on almost every product you buy.

The other day I was looking through my pond chemicals.

I needed to find the product I use to control the green algae.

Some of the bottles had booklets taped to them.

I became frustrated because I could not

find what these products were to be used

for because there were so many warnings.

  Most of these warnings I could not understand.

I think we have become so accustom to

warning labels we seem to ignore them.

Unfortunately, we need warning labels

even when common sense should be enough.

The problem is many of us think we will not

be one of the ones effected by the side effects.

The Book of Proverbs puts a warning label on Alcohol.

Side effects of Alcohol…

Wine is a mocker and beer a brawler;

whoever is led astray by them is not wise.

Proverbs 20:1 NIV

…Warning….

 The love of wine may keep you from becoming rich.

Proverbs 21:17

Don’t join with those who drink too much.

Causes drowsiness, affections

ability to work and buy clothes.

Proverbs 23:20,21

Leads to woe, sorrow, strife, complaints,

needless bruises, bloodshot eyes.

Proverbs 23:29

It is seductive and bites like a snake.

 Proverbs 23:31,32

Alters senses, don’t see clearly, become confused,

may lead to saying or doing things you regret later.

Proverbs 23:33

It gives a false sense of security, exposing

you to danger like drinking and driving.

Proverbs 23:34,35

Who is alcohol for and not for?...

Alcohol is not for Kings and

rulers because it impairs judgment.

Proverbs 31:4,5

It is for those with no hope, those

who are dying, those in great anguish.

Proverbs 31:6,7

The New Testament gives us more insight on Alcohol…

Drunkenness is a work of darkness,

not an element of the armor of light.

Romans 13:11-14

Drunkenness must be repented of

to inherit the Kingdom of God.

1 Corinthians 6:9-10; Gal 5:19-21

Church discipline is suitable

for a drunkard in the church.

1 Corinthians 5:11-13

Our social responsibility is to the will

of God not the pressures of the world.

We should abstain for the social pressures

like drinking that we did before Christ.

1 Peter 4:1-4

The social pressures of eating and drinking

should not get in the way or take the place

of our love for the Kingdom of God

for righteousness peace and joy.

Romans 14:14-21

You wonder why Timothy abstained from drink

and Paul had to encourage him for health

reasons to take a little wine for his stomach.

 1 Timothy 5:23

In light of the Word of God, what place

should Alcohol play in the believer’s lives?

There are two points that the

world bring to us about Alcohol…

The one is it is socially accepted, commercials

have made it look like the thing to do.

The other is the statistics like…

  “ An estimated 88,000⁹ people (approximately 62,000 men and 26,000 women⁹) die from alcohol-related causes annually, making alcohol the fourth leading preventable cause of death in the United States. In 2014, alcohol-impaired driving fatalities accounted for 9,967 deaths (31 percent of overall driving fatalities).”

National Institute on Alcohol Abuse

Wine is a mocker and beer a brawler;

whoever is led astray by them is not wise.

Proverbs 20:1 NIV

Alcohol impairs wisdom.

So when it comes to the warning labels from the

Word of God and the labels concerning drinking;

As you read the warnings concerning Alcohol…

I trust you will be wise when it comes to drinking.

Scripture Reading

Proverbs 20:1

Wine is a mocker and beer a brawler;

whoever is led astray by them is not wise. NIV

Proverbs 21:17

17 He who loves pleasure will become poor;

whoever loves wine and oil will never be rich. NIV

Proverbs 23:20-21

20 Do not join those who drink too much wine

or gorge themselves on meat,

21 for drunkards and gluttons become poor,

and drowsiness clothes them in rags. NIV

Proverbs 23:20-21

20 Do not join those who drink too much wine

or gorge themselves on meat,

21 for drunkards and gluttons become poor,

and drowsiness clothes them in rags. NIV

Proverbs 23:29-35

29 Who has woe? Who has sorrow?

Who has strife? Who has complaints?

Who has needless bruises? Who has bloodshot eyes?

30 Those who linger over wine,

who go to sample bowls of mixed wine.

31 Do not gaze at wine when it is red,

when it sparkles in the cup,

when it goes down smoothly!

32 In the end it bites like a snake

and poisons like a viper.

33 Your eyes will see strange sights

and your mind imagine confusing things.

34 You will be like one sleeping on the high seas,

lying on top of the rigging.

35 "They hit me," you will say, "but I'm not hurt!

They beat me, but I don't feel it!

When will I wake up

so I can find another drink?" NIV

Proverbs 31:4-7

4 "It is not for kings, O Lemuel —

not for kings to drink wine,

not for rulers to crave beer,

5 lest they drink and forget what the law decrees,

and deprive all the oppressed of their rights.

6 Give beer to those who are perishing,

wine to those who are in anguish;

7 let them drink and forget their poverty

and remember their misery no more. NIV