Beware Of Drinking Alcohol: Liquid Devil

Proverbs 20:1, “Wine is a mocker, strong drink is raging: and whosoever is deceived thereby is not wise.”

I found a very interesting article today at alcohol.org, showing the average lifetime of money spent for alcohol in different cities across the United States. ...

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As the chart shows, the average amount of money spent in New York, New York is $121,383.24 over a lifetime. The least amount spent is $57,838.55 over a lifetime in Birmingham, Alabama. I have them all beat, I haven't spent a single penny in the 56 years that I've been alive to buy alcohol to drink. I thank God that I've never tried beer! I've never been drunk. I've never drank a sip of Vodka. I grew up around Skid Row, since my father was a Gospel preacher to Skid Row in downtown Chicago. I grew up tagging along with my father, who preached regularly at Pacific Garden Mission.

I humbly do not think it is a sin to drink alcohol. I sometimes drink a cup of Nyquil to help me sleep on rough days, which contains 10% alcohol. This is medicine (1st Timothy 5:23). In New Testament times they didn't have a CVS or Walgreens on the corner as we are blessed to have all across the United States. Pastor Jerry Falwell (1933-2007) called Nyquil “Baptist wine.” I like that. Dr. Falwell said that because many Christians drink Nyquil to get the same sedating effects of alcoholic beverages. Since I don't drink booze, Nyquil really helps me sleep on nights when I need it, for which I am thankful.

Having said that, we do know biblically that drunkenness is a sin. In fact, the Bible warns that drunkards will not be permitted to enter into God's Kingdom (1st Corinthians 6:19-10). Ah, but please notice verse 11, “but ye are washed...” The day you got saved, if you are a born-again child of God, all of your sins (past, present and future) were all forgiven and washed away by the precious blood of Jesus (1st Peter 1:18-19).

I humbly think it is a wise decision for every Christian to abstain from drinking alcoholic beverages. You cannot take two drinks if you don't take the first. That is good wisdom! You cannot become a drunkard or inebriated if you don't take the first sip of booze. I thank God. I thank God! I thank God that I have never started drinking beer. Most people can handle it, but you don't know how your body and mind will handle booze until time passes. It only takes one time to mess up! I could tell you dozens of true stories about famous people who had drank beer for 20 years, but then one unfortunate night they killed someone while under the influence (DUI) of drinking alcohol and then driving a vehicle.

One middle-aged man that comes to mind was a famous news journalist who worked for WGN television in Chicago. This incident happened in 2004. He was arrested for drunk driving when he went through a stop sign and crashed his car. A few years later he was arrested again for another DUI. He had drank booze for decades without an incident. The lesson to be learned is that a wise person avoids drinking booze. I thank God I have never drank any beer or whiskey.

A Drunk Driver Crashes