January 1 2018 – Click here to listen
Many this morning are nursing a bad hangover which has left them with a terrible taste in their mouth, upset stomach, headache, and maybe some regrets about their conduct last night. I know all too well what results from excessive drinking, because I did it for decades.
This morning I was trying to remember what it feels like to get drunk and I’ll be darned if I can. I recall feeling good for a while, but I remember the ill effects more. I guess I have reached a point whereby I have absolutely no desire to drink. I never thought I would see this day, but I’m glad it is here.
Praise God!
I was surprised many years ago to learn that drinking is a depressant. Although classified as a depressant, the amount of alcohol consumed determines the type of effect. Most people drink for the stimulant effect, such as a beer or glass of wine taken to “loosen up.” But if a person consumes more than the body can handle, they then experience alcohol’s depressant effect.
I always drank more than just a single beer or glass of wine and thus ended up experiencing the depressant effect. I don’t want to be depressed and have not met anyone who does. So, the question looms, Why drink to excess?
The Bible is clear that drinking is not a sin. Drinking to excess is a sin. When we built Honey Lake Resort, we applied for a license to sell alcohol. We conducted many events such as wedding receptions, corporate meetings, and the like, and serving alcohol was a prerequisite for most any hospitality industry gathering.
I figured I was on safe biblical ground when considering serving alcohol since the first miracle performed by Jesus was turning water into wine at a wedding reception.
One day I was asked to speak at a local church and afterwards as I walked back to my car, a short little lady came running across the parking lot as fast as her little legs would carry her. Her rotund face was beet red from running and she had trouble catching her breath, but nonetheless she began berating me up one side and down the other.
She could not understand how someone “like me” who had personally experienced the ravages of alcohol as an alcoholic could sell it. I tried to reason with her, but she only got louder.
Finally, I looked at her and asked a question, “Do you think that overeating – gluttony – is a sin?”
To say that she was on the heavy side would be an understatement, as she was borderline obese and obviously was in love with the fork, and she replied, “Well, yes.”
I asked if she thought that maybe since many folks in the United States have a problem with overeating that perhaps I shouldn’t have had a restaurant at the resort either.
Her brow wrinkled as she thought about that. Then I asked if she thought I should have sold computers in my last company; after all, 52% of the population watches pornography on the Internet via computer.
She gave me a go to you know where look and turned on her heel and walked away.
I do understand her point. If there was no availability, there would be no temptation with committing sin; however, the reality of this life makes it impossible to remove all temptation from life. I’m not saying that I think anything should go, and people should be left to do whatever they want – I don’t believe that. Certain laws must be strictly enforced such as those created to combat illegal drugs, child pornography, driving while drunk, etc. that result in destruction of lives and property
But to say that no one may have a glass of wine at a wedding is not what God intended. If you cannot limit your drinking only to a moderate amount, then you must resist the urge like I do.
The Garden of Eden was not devoid of temptation to sin and neither is this planet today. To succeed in this life we must resist, (James 4:7 – Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.)
And we must use our brains to realize that over-indulging in most anything is not good for us. Proverbs 23:21 – For the drunkard and the glutton will come to poverty, and slumber will clothe them with rags. We should be guided by the Bible and thus it would pay to read it – (An excellent idea for a New Year’s resolution.)
But for now, if you haven’t read the Bible or studied it that much, just keep in mind a Christian is indwelled by the Holy Spirit – God Himself. Our bodies serve as temples and should be used to glorify God. Thus, it makes perfect sense to avoid things that will harm it. (Fodder for another New Year’s resolution – a sensible diet and regular exercise.)
Happy New Years everyone and I hope if you have a hangover that you will soon recover, but the next time you are tempted you will remember how you felt this New Year’s day and resist.
1 Cor. 6:13
Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.