June 23

“But they also have erred through wine…” Isaiah 28:7

Judah had fallen prey like Israel to the mind-robbing, sin-encouraging vice of drunkenness. Sadly the enslaving habit had found its mark even with the priests and the prophets who were intended to be beacons of God’s direction to the people. Their erring while in this intoxicated condition, included failing to discern the direction of God, and being unable to correctly judge matters. What an indictment against God’s people that Isaiah should be able to point at their lives being so devastated by sin, initiated and continued while under the influence and in the stupor of strong drink! Drunkenness is forbidden and deemed a sin in the bible, and for good reason! It robs reason from the mind and causes many to pursue and fulfil the sinful tendency of their flesh even more readily. It has always been at the centre of social deterioration in every culture and civilization of the past, and accompanied every degradation and moral failure that humans are capable of. In our present modern and so-called civilised western world, it is one of the main contributors to social problems. Alcoholism is associated with many serious and life threatening medical conditions; responsible for poor performance in the work place, and creating a host of complications and severe setbacks for people in various relationships. It is often at the centre of domestic violence, driving offences and many other crimes and socially abusive behaviours. It pollutes every area of organised, societal living, ruining and destroying the fabric of our cultures and undermining our ability to work and behave responsibly. Alcohol abuse affects the drinker’s life, his immediate environment, family and work, and the overall society the drinker is a part of. God visited stern judgement on His people for their abuse of strong drink and the resulting sinfulness. It is important as Christians, that we take note of the things which caused God’s hand to fall in punishment in the past, both in our lives and in the lives of others, learn from those mistakes and lessons, and determine to stand strong against anything that can be offensive to the Lord. As believers we have been given the Spirit of a sound mind - God’s Holy Spirit, which causes us to live holy and grants us a clear and sober mind as to moral and spiritual issues. Anything that can cloud, inebriate, intoxicate and distort our thinking and emotions is not holy, and cannot be tolerable before the Lord! We are to avoid such aberrations and keep to the trueness of love, faith and holiness God has prescribed for us. When we present our bodies a living sacrifice unto God, holy and acceptable unto Him, we are acting in a manner pleasing unto the Lord and are doing what is our ‘reasonable service’ to God!

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