THE JOY OF
DRINKING.
What type of drinking are we talking about? It is
taking of alcohol. It was never a sin to taking alcohol, it is not a sin and it
will never be a sin, but where trouble comes in is when taken excess. The
English says that too much of everything is bad. Too much of food is bad.
Drinking is a good thing to do. When you drink, it
removes anxiety, high blood pressure, it makes you not to feel angry
unnecessarily. Many things it does to the body which medical practitioners can
tell better. We should embrace drinking but with moderation. Illicit drinking
is a very serious problem.
Continue Reading................................................
 |
| MODERATE DRINKING. VIRTUE LIES IN THE MIDDLE. |
I have encountered many who have convinced me that
banning alcohol is a necessary thing. One man after drinking too much or to
stupor, was stopping a long Dangote vehicle at night to get flame of fire from
the head lamp and there he met his death. One after drinking was telling his
brother that when cars kills him, he will copy the number of the car, a dead
man copying number. And many other similar stories.
Virtue lies in the middle forever and it will never
change. If you cannot control yourself towards taking alcohol, I strongly
suggest you do not take at all. Avoidance will save you than taking up a task
you know that is above you. As we take alcohol, we should remember that habit a
second nature of anyone who has it. It easy to start but hard to stop. A man in
my side started with drinking after work to help the body relax. He continued
to the extent that whenever does not take it, he will not be himself. When his
children saw that it was getting out of hand, they told him that anytime they
see him again drunk, they will deal with him. One day when he had no other
option that to take it because he could not resist it again, he told the seller
to use sprit bottle to sell to him. When he was drinking it, anyone that passes
he greets the person very well to show the person that he is taking sprit, when
he was going home, he was staggering. When he was asked what happened, he
called names of all those he greeted that time he was taking it and asked his
children to go and ask them if it was not sprit that he took. He concluded
with: Amahọmụ na sprit Saba Ugwuona n’ eme eme. That is, I did not
know that Saba Ugwuona’s sprit contains alcohol. When you control the thing you
take in, it is good but when they turn to control you, then that is your doom. You
are finished when you no longer resist the pleasure of wine or alcohol taking.
These Scriptures show that drinking is not a sin. If
used wisely in moderation alcohol can be a good thing. See what the scripture
says about alcohol:
Ecclesiastes 9:7 Go ahead and enjoy your meals as you
eat. Drink your wine with a joyful attitude, because God already has approved
your actions.
Isaiah 62:8-9 The Lord has sworn by His right hand
and by His strong arm, “I will never again give your grain as food for your
enemies; nor will foreigners drink your new wine for which you have laboured.” But
those who gather it will eat it and praise the Lord; and those who gather
it will drink it in the courts of my sanctuary.
Psalm 104:14-15 You make grass grow for cattle and
make vegetables for humans to use in order to get food from the
ground. You make wine to cheer human hearts, olive oil to make faces
shine, and bread to strengthen human hearts.
Isaiah 55:1 “Come, everyone who is thirsty, come
to the waters! Also, you that have no money, come, buy, and
eat! Come! Buy wine and milk without money and without price.
Jesus turned water into wine.
John 2:7-9 Jesus *said to them, “Fill the water pots
with water.” So they filled them up to the brim. And He *said to them, “Draw
some out now and take it to the headwaiter.” So they took it to him. When the
headwaiter tasted the water which had become wine, and did not know where it
came from (but the servants who had drawn the water knew), the headwaiter
*called the bridegroom.
Benefits: Wine was used as medicine.
1 Timothy 5:23 Drink no longer water only, but use a
little wine for your stomach’s sake and your frequent illnesses.
What should be avoided and what is a sin is
drunkenness.
We should avoid drunkenness at all costs. Throughout
Scripture it is condemned and it leads to even more wickedness. There are so
many warning Scriptures on alcohol, which should cause us to pause and think
about should we fix a glass?
Ephesians 5:18 and don’t get drunk with wine, which
leads to reckless actions, but be filled by the Spirit.
Proverbs 20:1 Wine is a mocker, strong drink a
brawler, and whoever is intoxicated by it is not wise.
Isaiah 5:11 Woe to those who rise early in the
morning in pursuit of beer, who linger into the evening, inflamed by wine.
Galatians 5:21 envying, murders, drunkenness,
reveling, and such like: of the things which I tell you before, as I have also
told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the
kingdom of God.
Proverbs 23:29-35 who has won? Who has
sorrow? Who has conflicts? Who has complaints? Who has wounds for no
reason? Who has red eyes? Those who linger over wine, those who
go looking for mixed wine. Don’t gaze at wine because it is red, when
it gleams in the cup and goes down smoothly. In the end it bites like
a snake and stings like a viper. Your eyes will see strange
things, and you will say absurd things. You’ll be like someone
sleeping out at sea or lying down on the top of a ship’s mast. “They
struck me, but I feel no pain! They beat me, but I didn’t know
it! When will I wake up? I’ll look for another drink.”
Scripture teaches us to be sober minded. When you are
vulnerable that is when Satan likes to attack the most.
We have to remember that Satan does seek to kill
people. That is why it is important that we remain sober. One of the main
causes of car accidents is drunk driving. I know people who died in a drunk
driving accident and they died without knowing the Lord. This is serious. This
is not something to play around with. If the devil can catch you with your
guard down he will.
If someone used to be a drunkard and, then came back
to his senses, it would not be wise for a person like this to consume alcohol.
Why tempt yourself? Don’t slip back to your old ways. Don’t deceive yourself.
Many of you know what you once were before getting yourself.
He doesn’t deliver you so you can put yourself in a
position where you can fall. You might say it’s only one drink, but that one
drink turns into two, three, etc. I’ve seen people fall so fast.
1 Peter 4:2-4 As a result, they do not live the rest
of their earthly lives for evil human desires, but rather for the will of
God. For you have spent enough time in the past doing what pagans choose
to do—living in debauchery, lust, drunkenness, orgies, carousing and detestable
idolatry. They are surprised that you do not join them in their reckless,
wild living, and they heap abuse on you.
Too much people are addicted to alcohol.
I know people who are literally killing themselves
and I know people who died in their sleep in their mid-40s because of
alcoholism. It’s a terrible and sad thing. You might say I’m strong enough to
handle it, but many people who died thought the same thing. So moderation is
very important.
Many people ask can I drink a small amount daily.
When do we draw the line when it comes to alcohol assumption? How much is too
much?
The alcohol that was used in Scripture was not as
strong as what we have today so we should actually drink less. All things
should be done in moderation, but never make up your own definition for
moderation. Alcohol tolerance levels vary, but one way to know is if Christ was
standing in front of you would you have a clear conscience drinking a couple of
glasses of alcohol a day?
Is it really showing self-control when consuming
alcohol daily? Can it lead to pouring 2 more cups? These are areas where we
have to discipline ourselves in. I am not saying you can’t drink, but I don’t
believe it would be wise to drink every day, nor is it showing self-control.
Philippians 4:5 Let your moderation be known unto all
men. The Lord is at hand.
Proverbs 25:28 like a city with breached walls is a
man without self-control.
Romans 14:21 it is a noble thing not to eat meat, or
drink wine, or do anything that makes your brother stumble.
Of course virtue lies in the middle.
ReplyDelete