May 10, 2021 – Click here to listen
My wife never seems to worry when I go offshore no matter how far I go or how stormy it might be. The only thing she harasses me about is not focusing on watching where I’m going. I have enough electronics on the boat that it is like monitoring a Boeing 747 so I do have to look at the instruments quite often. I have on occasion been guilty of not looking ahead while doing this.
So I went by boat to the Dry Tortugas which is located about 70 miles west of Key West and Key West is about 50 miles from my home in order to go fishing. We spent the night in Key West and got up early the next morning and I maneuvered us safely out of the harbor and then stopped to set the GPS coordinates for the 70 mile run to the Tortugas.
I was deeply engrossed in mapping out our course and avoiding shallow water. I’d noticed a thundershower off to our right, but such rain showers are common in the morning and quickly dissipate and I didn’t give it a second thought. I was looking at the map screen and I heard one of the guys shout out from the back of the boat, “I don’t know what you’re doing Bob, but you better get this thing moving because there is a water spout heading right towards us.”
Huh?
I looked up and the clouds had turned really black and sure enough a water spout was on the water making a beeline towards us. I told them to hold on and gunned the boat and fortunately was able to escape. I was laughing like crazy, but the other guys for some reason didn’t seem to see the humor.
I’m sure my wife would have been like a mad wet hen had she been along, but it was exhilarating to me. We went and caught a boatload of fish and returned home unscathed.
So yesterday I relaxed by the pool at Hawk’s Cay Resort near my home. My wife is visiting her sister and won’t be home until tonight so I was solo. I sat there and watched all of the vacationers getting drunk and start acting stupid. I was sitting by the adult pool but I could have easily been watching the children at the general pool and seen some of the same behavior. I can only imagine how bad their hangovers are this morning.
I quit drinking decades ago and am really glad I did. Maybe they had a blast, (some probably needed to be told they appeared to have had a good time because they were so drunk, they probably don’t remember anything.)
I have a friend who has tried to quit drinking numerous times. I’ve seen his drinking lead him to do things he would never have done sober. His family has been devastated by alcoholism and it reminds me of that tornado on water tearing into his life. I had many vices and kicked them all comparatively easy compared with quitting drinking. Why? Because everyone seems to drink and it is tempting and difficult to maintain self-control.
My buddy TK Wetherell and I used to go to various functions and parties together and neither of us drank alcohol. We would watch all of the people getting more and more loose and it was often followed by inhibitions being lowered to the point that some of the drunker ones were hitting on each other’s spouses and so on. T K would look at me and say, I wish I was fishing or hunting somewhere.
My sentiments exactly. Life is short and going fast and I don’t want to waste a day of it by messing up my mind until everything is a blur and doing things I would never do otherwise. No I’m not a prohibitionist but everything should be done in moderation. The Bible does not forbid drinking alcohol, but it does warn against dangers of drinking too much, engaging in immoral behavior, and other consequences of alcohol abuse. While the Bible recognizes that drinking in moderation can be enjoyable and even safe, it contains passages that advise against heavy drinking. Every alcoholic wishes they could drink socially and in moderation, but they cannot.
How do you know you’re an alcoholic? One definition is that it interferes with your life and causes problems. Moderation avoids extremes, exercises restraint, and is related to self-control. Moderation is a good thing but living a life of moderation is an uphill battle in today’s world. Much of Western culture is saturated with excess. Restaurants serve “all you can eat” of our favorite foods. Advertisements constantly push things we “need” to buy because, of course, the things we have just aren’t good enough. The Bible teaches us that excess doesn’t work so well, and it helps us understand how and why we should live with moderation. The key is learning self-control through faith.
Gal. 5:22
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.