itself wasn't considered sinful. The problem was what
Proverbs them that "having fun," "feeling good," and "getting away with it" are now the main goals in life.
ant paths, but always in right paths. Not always in those I would have chosen, but always in paths which lead to success…. The paths that He directs lead always through mist and mystery, through battle and through bruising, to the fulfillment of the meaning of life."4
The book of Proverbs has something to say about popular sins that are weakening our homes, threatening the peace of our communities, and destroying lives.
Some people live only for entertainment and try to escape the burdens of life. Others live for enjoyment and try to make the most of life. God's dedicated people live for enrichment and discover fulfillment in life as they do the will of God from the heart.
1. Drunkenness Alcohol is a narcotic, not a food; Proverbs warns us about alcohol abuse. We need to heed that warning today. Paying for the tragic consequences of drug and alcohol abuse in the United States drains $200 billion annually out of the economy, which averages out to approximately $800 per citizen per year. About 50,000 people a year are killed by drunk drivers, and millions of work hours are lost because of alcohol-related absences and work accidents. The United States consumes 60 percent of the world's illicit drugs (alcohol is a legal drug), and drug users spend $150 billion in the United States just on cocaine!1
Which one are you?
Notes 1 God never violates any person's freedom, but He works so that His purposes are accomplished even through the lives of people who don't know Him or won't acknowledge Him. This was true of Cyrus (2 Chron. 36:22; Isa. 44:28—45:1), Nebuchadnezzar (Jer. 25:9; 27:6), and Pharaoh (Ex. 9:16; Rom. 9:14–18). 2 The KJV reads "A man who hath friends must show himself friendly," and the margin of the NKJV reads "A man who has friends may come to ruin." The idea seems to be that having many companions but no real friends could lead a person to ruin, for there's nobody who cares enough about him to rebuke him. The original text is diffcult, but the NIV seems to say it best. 3 Psalm 46:10 says, "Be still, and know that I am God"; the phrase "be still" literally means "take your hands off," or "stop your striving." There are times when we prove our faith simply by waiting on the Lord and allowing Him to work. Naomi's advice to Ruth was excellent: "Sit still, my daughter" (Ruth 3:18), and so was Moses' instruction to Israel at the Red Sea: "Stand still!" (Ex. 14:13). But when it's time to act, no amount of devotion will substitute for obedience. See Josh. 7:10ff.; 1 Samuel 16:1ff.; 1 Kings 19:15ff. 4 The Westminster Pulpit, vol. IV (London: Pickering and Inglis), 147.
Wine and Israel. Wine is mentioned nearly 150 times in the Old Testament. The people of Israel considered it a gift from God, along with oil and bread (Ps. 104:15). When Isaac blessed Jacob, he asked God to give him "the dew of heaven, and the fatness of the earth, and plenty of corn [grain] and wine" (Gen. 27:28; see also Deut. 7:13). However, milk and water, not wine, were the usual daily drinks at Jewish tables; like meat, wine was usually kept for special festive occasions. The Jews also had "strong drink," which was brewed from fermented grain or fruit.
While drunkenness is condemned by the law and the prophets,2 the use of wine was not forbidden, except to priests serving in the holy precincts (Lev. 10:8–10) and to people under a Nazarite vow (Num. 6:1–12). Wine was used as a drink offering to the Lord (Ex. 29:38–41; Num. 15:1–15), and could be brought as part of the Jews' tithes (Neh. 10:36–39), so wine itself wasn't considered sinful. The problem was what wine did to people. The Old Testament doesn't demand total abstinence, although certainly it recommends it.3
CHAPTER TWELVE POPULAR SINS (DRUNKENNESS, DISRESPECT, ILLUSION, GREED, PRIDE) T
Wine and wisdom. "Wine is a mocker, intoxicating drink arouses brawling, and whoever is led astray by it is not wise" (Prov. 20:1 nkjv). This is the first of several passages in Proverbs that warn against what today we call "alcohol abuse." Alcohol mocks people by creating in them a thirst for more while not satisfying that thirst. The more people drink, the less they enjoy it. The drinker becomes a drunk and then a brawler. In spite of what the slick advertising says about the charm of drink, it just isn't a smart thing to do. As a Japanese proverb puts it, "First the man takes a drink; then the drink takes a drink; then the drink takes the man."
hanks to worldwide media coverage and the constant pressure for higher program ratings, sin has become an important part of international entertainment. Evil activities that we ought to be weeping over are now sources of entertainment; they are vividly displayed on movie and TV screens and discussed in depth in newspapers and magazines. The all-seeing camera moves into the bedroom, the barroom, and the courtroom and enables excited viewers to enjoy sin vicariously. Movies and TV are instructing generation after generation of children how to ridicule virginity, laugh at sobriety, challenge authority, and reject honesty. Actors, actresses, and advertisers have convinced
Alcohol also mocks people by giving them a false sense of happiness and strength, and this is what often leads to fights. The weakling thinks he's a superman so he challenges anybody who gets in his way. The gradeschool dropout thinks he's the wisest person in town and argues with anybody who disagrees with him.
As I was writing this chapter, I read an item in the
Proverbs stand up for the oppressed (Prov. 31:8–9), but they also need to be in shape to stand up for themselves, something alcohol won't supply.
newspaper that illustrates my point. According to the Associated Press, a British charter plane had to make an emergency landing in Munich because a drunken passenger slugged his girlfriend and started brawling with other passengers. German police had to handcuff the man and drag him off the plane. After sobering up in an airport security cell, the man discovered that the airport had charged him $3,000 for the emergency landing and extra jet fuel. Those were expensive drinks!4
Wine and today's believer. The New Testament clearly warns today's Christians about the sin of drunkenness. "Let us walk properly, as in the day, not in revelry and drunkenness, not in lewdness and lust, not in strife and envy" (Rom. 13:13 nkjv; see 1 Thess. 5:7; Luke 21:34). Galatians 5:21 names drunkenness as one of the works of the flesh, and 1 Peter 2:11 admonishes us to "abstain from fleshly lusts which war against the soul."
Addiction to alcohol can lead to poverty (21:17), so it's wise to stay away from the people who encourage you to drink (23:20–21). Proverbs 23:29–35 is the most vivid description of the tragic consequences of drunkenness you will find anywhere in Scripture,5 including delirium, sorrow, strife, bruises, and bloodshot eyes;6 "and in the end it bites like a snake and poisons like a viper" (23:32 niv). You'd think that after having this frightening experience, the drinker would want to become a total abstainer for life, but alas, he's a slave! "When will I wake up so I can find another drink?" (v. 35 niv).
Passages like Romans 14:1—15:13 and 1 Corinthians 8–10 instruct us to (1) receive other Christians and not make differences about diets and special days a test of fellowship or spirituality; (2) avoid being a stumbling block to others; (3) seek to build one another up in Christian maturity; and (4) avoid being obstinate and defensive about our own personal convictions so that they become a cause of disunity in the church. Christians with a weak conscience stumble easily and need to be built up, but stronger Christians are sometimes quick to criticize and look down on others. Both groups need love, patience, and the help of the Spirit.
Alcohol and civic responsibilities don't mix, according to Proverbs 31:1–9;7 yet the alcohol flows freely under capitol domes and at embassies. A resident of Washington, D.C., said to me, "There are three parties in this city: the Republican Party, the Democratic Party, and the cocktail party."
My wife and I have traveled enough to know that there's such a thing among God's people as "cultural Christianity." Practices that are acceptable in one place may be classified as sins in another place, and this includes the use of alcohol as a beverage. Christians everywhere should deplore drunkenness, but not all of us agree on total abstinence or even on what "moderation" is.
King Lemuel's mother warned him to stay away from wine so that he would be capable of serving others. "Woe to you, O land, when your king is a child, and your princes feast in the morning! Blessed are you, O land, when your king is the son of nobles, and your princes feast at the proper time—for strength and not for drunkenness" (Eccl. 10:16–17 nkjv; see Hos. 7:5). "Woe to those who are heroes at drinking wine and champions at mixing drinks, who acquit the guilty for a bribe, but deny justice to the innocent" (Isa. 5:22 niv). That's what the queen mother was warning her son to avoid.
Our conviction is total abstinence, but we haven't made it a test of fellowship or spirituality. As far as I know, we've never created problems ministering in different cultures, even in the homes of people who disagreed with our views. Other Christians have respected us because we've respected them and tried to manifest Christian love. But by not using alcoholic beverages, my wife and I have not been tempted to get drunk; we've also been examples to believers who might stumble if we did drink. These two blessings are worth more to us than whatever pleasure there may be in drinking alcoholic beverages.9
Proverbs 31:6–7 seems to suggest that there are times when wine should be used to help people, such as encouraging the dying or comforting the suffering so they can forget their troubles. I think verses 6–7 are spoken in irony and not as a commandment, because nobody's problems are solved by forgetting them, and who wants to spend his or her last minutes of life on earth drunk? When Jesus faced death on the cross, He refused to accept the wine sedative that was offered Him (Matt. 27:33–34). If it's wrong for the king to drink wine because it prevents him from helping people, then it's wrong for needy people to drink wine because it prevents them from helping themselves! The dying person needs help in preparing to meet God, and the suffering person needs help in solving life's problems; drinking alcohol will accomplish neither one.8
2. Disrespect "The eye that mocks his father, and scorns obedience to his mother, the ravens of the valley will pick it out, and the young eagles will eat it" (Prov. 30:17 nkjv). The child who looks at his or her parents with contempt and disrespect will one day be treated like an unburied corpse, and to be left unburied was a great reproach in Israel. As I read the newspapers and news magazines, I become more and more convinced that we're living in the generation described in Proverbs 30:11–14 with its pride, greed, violence, and lack of appreciation for parents.
We help people, not by deadening them to their problems and pains, but by encouraging them to trust the Lord and lean on His Word. We certainly must
Disrespect for parents usually begins with disrespect