“Anyone for a drink?”
US Army Medics like me in the early ‘80’s, always knew of the dangers of heart, liver and kidney disease resulting from alcohol and drug abuse. We were also subjected to hours of video sob stories of men who lost the respect from family and friends, lost their wives, lost their privilege to drive and hold down a job, and in the end, lost everything. Everything.
In the Old Testament, Aaron and his sons, the priests, were strictly forbidden to drink either wine or strong drink when they went into the tabernacle to minister before the Lord (see Leviticus 10:9). Likewise, Nazarites were forbidden to use wine while under their vow (see Numbers 6:1-3, 20; Judges 13:4-7). The Rechabites lived as examples of permanent abstinence from wine, adhering strictly to the command of their ancestor, Jonadab, to refrain from it (see Jeremiah 35:1-8, 14).
Proverbs is loaded with warnings against indulging in wine and strong drink (Proverbs 20:1; 21:17; 23:29-35; 31:4). Wine mocks those who use it (Proverbs 20:1) and rewards them with woe, sorrow, strife, and wounds without cause (Proverbs 23:29, 30). The prophet Isaiah declared, “Woe to those who are heroes at drinking wine and champions at mixing drinks” (Isaiah 5:22). Daniel and his companions set a worthy example by refusing to drink the king’s wine (see Daniel 1:5-16). When fasting later in life, Daniel abstained from wine (see Daniel 10:3).
In the New Testament, the usual word for wine, whether alcoholic or non-alcoholic, is οινος (oinos). Jesus likened His revolutionary teaching to the new wine, which would burst the old wine skins of tradition (Matthew 9:17). Paul warned believers against drunkenness (Ephesians 5:18) and declared that deacons should not be “addicted to much wine” (1 Timothy 3:8). He counseled Titus that the older women should not be “slaves to drink” (Titus 2:3).
Yet, Paul also recommend that his friend Timothy “use a little wine” for relief from a digestive ailment (1 Timothy 5:23). In those days, physical ailments, such as dysentery, were common occurrences—often due to contaminated water. Even the children in 17th century England drank beer, as it was purer than the filthy water available at that time.
Any arguments about drinking aside, the Bible is clear that our bodies are temples of the living God through the presence of the Holy Spirit, and who would want to intentionally grieve the Holy Spirit with our drunkenness, yet I, for one, most certainly did – and did so for a very long time, I am embarrassed to say. “Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received of God? . . . . Therefore, honor God with your body” (1 Corinthians 6:19). God is concerned with how we treat our bodies, including what we eat or drink. “So, whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God” (1 Corinthians 10:31). The wise King Solomon said, “Wine is a mocker and beer is a brawler; whoever is led astray by them is not wise” (Proverbs 20:1). “Do not gaze at wine when it is red, when it sparkles in the cup, when it goes down smoothly! In the end it bites like a snake and poisons like a viper” (Proverbs 23:31).
Such great wisdom and such wonderful advice, but a drunkard is oblivious to it all when in captivity to this satanic form of bondage. For me, it started quite innocently later in life, and then it took many years before it became “The Big Problem”. On my 30th birthday, a relative of my ex-wife irresponsibly gave me a bottle of Italian Brandy. Up to this point in my life, I may have had a total of 4 beers and two hard drinks. One Friday night, weeks after I received this damned gift, I uncorked it, and much to my surprise, I found that it actually tasted great! I loved it! For two years, I reserved my drinking to only Friday evenings. Then it became Thursday and Friday and Saturday evenings. Then it became every night of the week. Since I was cognizant of the dangers of drinking on the job, I was careful to limit myself to just enough alcohol to get a slight buzz before I stopped for the night.
Fast forward 14 years, when I got my first (and I hope, my only) DUI arrest. I actually passed the field sobriety test, but when I was asked to take the breath analyzer test, it read .092. So, I said to the State Trooper, “So what’s the problem? The legal limit is .1 %.” He cheerfully replied that that was three months before the law changed the legal limit to .08%, so he dutifully handcuffed me and placed me under arrest. Talk about a surreal moment…
I plead guilty at my hearing, but the short, grey-haired prosecutor in over-sized round, wire-rimmed glasses said, “Mr. Gordon, I would actually love to take your guilty plea because it would save me a lot of time, but are you prepared to spend 10 days in jail?” I responded that I needed to be in California the following morning for an assignment from my company, so he recommended that I plead innocent, and take some time to find an attorney to represent me.
A month later, my young attorney told me that since I passed the sobriety test, and since the officer did not notice any swerving in my driving (since I had pulled over to the side of the road to adjust my son’s seatbelt) there was some wiggle room in the alcohol breathalyzer test – enough that he felt confident to “get me off”, especially since I had no previous record. But I was guilty – I felt guilty, after all – in the eyes of the law, I was guilty, so I said that I’d like to plead guilty, and take my chances with the judge.
When I stood before a young, blonde haired woman in a black robe, she was holding a tiny piece of paper (my record of 44 years) before her, and looking at the prosecutor, said, “What – this is it?” The prosecutor said, that I had behaved like a gentleman throughout the entire process and was recommending that she reduce the automatic 6-month loss of license to just 3 months. She agreed, and after paying the clerk $600 in fees, I was released.
I won’t go into the aftermath – perhaps I can use this in a blog later on – but in my mind, I now recognized that I was a drunkard. And there is no place in heaven for drunkards. Why? Well because a drunkard kicks the Holy Spirit off the throne of his life, and uses the imitation “peace” of alcohol to deal with all of his or her problems. The only issue with this, as I found out, is that with alcohol, this ‘peace ‘is only a temporary respite, and it almost always leads to further negative consequences resulting from a mind out of control (yet, simultaneously in control of the devil). He doesn’t miss a beat.
In summary:
1. I lived to be 30 years old before my first real taste of alcohol.
2. It may take many years, but it creeps up on you, and eventually it will dominate your life, I promise you.
3. You’re never too young or too old to become a useless drunk non-entity.
4. Alcohol is a real killer, folks. It destroys many organs in the body. More than this, it destroys relationships, marriages, employment and the maintenance of possessions.
5. The 12-step Alcoholics Anonymous program works – find folks in your area who feel just like you do. They want to be your friend and help you in your recovery. The first day I attended AA in a horrid, sweaty basement of some dilapidated church in town, I felt completely out of place, but within minutes several folks gravitated to me and made me feel welcome, more than any church I’ve ever attended. These people are aware of their sin and they want to be engaged in a progressive kind of repentance. They want to help! So, take advantage of this. They are probably as close to angels as you will ever find. I was blown away from my first meeting with these toothless, skinny people, and to this day, I’ve never met such people intent to save the lost and love the lost and do everything they can to help the lost. What church can boast of this today?
6. You will eventually stand back and see how your alcoholism has destroyed the ones you love, and they in turn will want to have nothing to do with you. Though alcoholism is deemed a ‘disease’ by the most so-called, prominent ‘doctors and scholars’ of this day, try to pass this off to a dear one… they do not see this as a “disease”, but as a choice to be self-indulgent and satisfied, regardless of who it hurts or destroys. Your most loved ones will NEVER accept this as a bloody disease, but as a deliberate choice to put your drinking above everything else, regardless of the consequences. Perhaps, at least in my case, this is true.
7. The great thing about a Savior like Christ Jesus is that He forgives ALL sin: drunkards, idolaters, fornicators and adulterers, thieves, gossipers and murderers… so I suppose I am in good company.
8. To avoid back-sliding, IMMERSE yourself in His word. Pray every day – several times a day, and I’m not talking about praying to God while you’re on the toilet, or driving to work when it’s convenient to you. I’m talking about giving this KING the respect He deserves by formerly approaching Him on your knees against your bed or couch, and just talking with Him. He is such a personable listener, and more than this He responds! He is my Deliverer, my God, my Lord and King, and when I think that He considers me His friend, I am unable to put into words how much this means to me – to be considered a ‘friend’ of the Lord God Almighty…
9. Alcoholism, like any addiction to pornography, food, knowledge, youth, drugs, etc. is a lifelong ordeal we as Christians need to stay on top of. The devil lurks around every corner, looking for any opportunity to suck us down into the pit along with him. We must remain very close to the Lord to avoid becoming another of the devil’s casualties.
I realize that I stuck my neck out on this one… I’m not thrilled to let all of you know that I am an alcoholic, but I really want to use this testimony to point all of us to Christ. He is the only way to deliverance, redemption and eternal life. In less than 30 years, I will stand before Christ Jesus and looking deeply into His eyes, I will see my Savior, my Lord, my God and more than this, my Friend – the friend to sinners like me. With a Friend like Christ, who is for you, who can be against you!