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- Social Drinking
Bryant Evans
"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.
Thine eyes shall behold strange women, and thine heart shall utter
perverse things. 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.
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."Proverbs 23:29-35 (KJV)
One can scarce imagine a better time for wise
Solomon's words than today. In the present day it is uncommon
for a restaurant to exist without a bar or lounge. It is uncommon
for one to attend a formal social occasion without wine or strong
drink. It is uncommon to watch more than 30 minutes of
television without seeing multiple advertisements for beer. Sadly,
it is also uncommon to open the newspaper without a report
of violence caused or escalated by beverage alcohol. It is uncommon
to watch the news without hearing of a fatal automobile accident
in which alcohol played a role. Truly, beverage alcohol is now
as common as hot dogs at the ballpark or fried chicken at a Sunday
social.
For the devout Christian, it has become almost
impossible to avoid alcoholic drink. Some Christians have succumbed
to the peer pressure to partake and now argue that there is nothing
wrong with an occasional drink every now and again provided one
does not become drunk. Sometimes these misguided brethren will
point to a passage or two and allege that the Scriptures permit
drinking and that even Jesus made intoxicating wine. Let us study
this subject from two perspectives. We will first see the clear
and unmistakable Biblical condemnation of drinking and then we
will observe the arguments in support of drinking and show their
error.
In our text above, Solomon catalogs the awful
consequences of the brewmaster's art. Notice the list: Woe, sorrow,
contentions, babblings, wounds without cause and reddened eyes.
These are the marks of the man who toys with intoxicating beverages.
In our words today we would say that a drinker is full if inner
pain and sorrow, slurs his speech and suffers wounds that he cannot
remember getting. He is a man with bloodshot eyes. Surely we understand
the horror of the alcoholic. We are especially haunted by the
last words of the passage "I will seek it yet again."
Solomon knew the horrible state that awaits the man given to beverage
alcohol.
In the New Testament, we find direct condemnation
of drunkenness. Paul writes that drunkenness is one of the works
of the flesh and notes that "they which do such things shall
not inherit the kingdom of God (Galatians 5:21). He writes again
in Ephesians 5:18, "Be not drunk with wine..." There
can be no question that a life of drunkenness leads to condemnation.
The issue is not whether one can be drunk however, it is whether
can drink in moderation without violating God's law. We believe
the answer is no.
Interestingly, the word translated "drunk"
in the Ephesian passage translates a Greek word which means to
make drunk or to grow drunk. The process is in view here not the
end result. So we must ask at what point does one begin the process
of intoxication? Scientists are unable to clearly and definitively
demarcate between drunk and sober. Blood alcohol measures offer
a general rule but may not always accurately classify one as drunk.
We know from our experience in the world that the first drink
of alcohol begins to have some effect. True, the effect increases
in proportion to the amount consumed, but intoxication has begun.
As a preaching friend of mine recently said, "the only difference
between social drinking and being drunk is a matter of degrees."
In spite of what the Bible says, can anyone honestly
hold that beverage alcohol is acceptable for the Christian? Unbelievably,
some do!
1 Timothy 5:23 is often offered in defense of
social drinking. Here Paul instructed Timothy to "use a little
wine for thy stomach's sake..." We observe that this is a
medicinal instruction and has absolutely nothing to do with social
drinking. Perhaps you have been prescribed a narcotic pain reliever
due to illness or injury. Would anyone argue that the medicinal
use of the drug is the same as the recreational use? Ask your
local narcotics officer what he thinks. Second, we must not assume
what we do not know. Wine here, and throughout the Bible may or
may not be intoxicating. Given Paul's earlier statement about
the process of becoming intoxicated it is unlikely he had alcohol
containing wine in mind.
Others argue that since Jesus turned water into
wine in John 3, that social drinking must be acceptable. But let
us apply common sense to the passage. Is anyone willing?
to suggest that Jesus actually contributed to
the intoxication of the wedding guests? Recalling all the prohibitions
against intoxication would Jesus soil his innocent hands to make
men drunk? Certainly not. Remember that the word "wine"
must be viewed through first century eyes. Only the context can
determine whether or not the wine contained alcohol.
While it is true that we are literally surrounded
by alcoholic drinks, we are also told that we are to be different
(Titus 2:14). Let us reject worldly living and seek to be Godly
in all our ways.