Wine is a mocker and beer a brawler; whoever is led astray by them is not wise.

Proverbs 20:1

For Your Meditation

What was King Xerxes thinking about when he called Vashti, his wife, to come and display her beauty to the people and nobles (Esther 1:11)? What was the sense in that? But that is the power and influence of alcohol. It dulls the senses and deceives the person under its influence.

I remember when I was a slave to it. I was the best dancer in the world. Lewis Hamilton could not beat me on the tracks. I could squeeze into the tiniest space between cars without thinking. People loved me, or so I thought. Talk about the boldness of expression. I spoke my mind without reservation. And I shot from both sides of my mouth too. The only person who was wiser than me was King Solomon, and he did not live in my time. But how wrong I was!

That is the world and imagination of the person who imbibes a bit or plenty. It is a concealed problem alcohol deceptively packages as a beautiful gift to its patrons. It wrecks lives and destroys homes with no discrimination between the poor and the rich, the young, and the old. Alcohol deceives its friends and leads them astray.

When Solomon says that “Wine is a mocker and beer a brawler; whoever is led astray by them is not wise,” he knows what he is talking about (Prov. 20:1). Could he be revealing the secret of his backsliding into grievous idolatry in his later years (Eccl. 2:2-3; I Kings 11:1-11)? Yet, he was supposed to be the wisest king on earth (1 Kings 3:12).  

Many people continue drinking with the excuse that the Bible does not say, “Thou shall not drink”.  They forget Solomon’s admonition that “whoever is deceived by wine and beer [alcohol] is not wise.”  Perhaps you should seriously consider his advice. The Holy Spirit can point out many regrettable or sinful deeds in your life that have their roots in drinking if you want Him to. As a priest of God, who continuously serve before Him (1 Pt. 2:9), maybe that could convince you to quit in respect of His holiness.

There is freedom in not drinking, and I can testify to that.