The Aftertaste Of Alcohol Series

Today I am going to preach on the subject of alcohol and its effects. Let me begin by by making some general observations and quoting some statical facts concerning alcohol.

I believe that alcohol is the most abused drug in America. While we have gone through many years of the scare of drugs from marijuana all the way up through the harder drugs, speed, heroin, PCP, crack cocaine and many others. We have failed to realize that the greatest abuse of drugs there is - is the most acceptable one of alcohol. While America has passed laws and invested money into the fight against street drugs (and I am glad we do like no other country) we have voted ourselves by popular demand into a legal and socially accepted deception concerning alcohol.

Listen to some of the statics as stated by Lawrence Greenfield the deputy director of the Bureau of Justice and also from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

In 1996, 1.5 million arrests were made for drinking under the influence of alcohol. It was also reported that 41% of all people who die in car accidents (the accident that killed them)can be related to alcohol. In the 1990’s about 3 million violent crimes occured each year and 35% of those crimes involved an offender who had been drinking.

The leading cause of death for young adults (15 y/o to 24 y/o) is drinking/driving accidents. In speaking about this group we need to realize that teenage alcoholism has been on a rapid rise since the late 1980’s. In New York City it is reported that 8 out of 10 teenagers admit to drinking alcohol and 12% of those are already alcoholics.

Nationally the statics say, 1 out of every 4 high school students admits to drinking on a regular basis and 1 out of every 20 teenagers in this country gets drunk at least once a week. You may ask, of these teenagers that drink, how do they get their alcohol?

31% of all teenagers that drink say that they get

their alcohol from the family home supply with

their parents approval or permission.

29% of the same group of drinking teenagers say

they get alcohol also from the family home supply

without the approval or permission of their

parents.

If these statics are accurate, it means that 60%

of drinking teenagers are drinking because their

parents whether approving or disapproving are

their providers, their bootleggers.

It’s not with a fake I.D. or someone older buying it for them. 60% of teenage drinkers in our country get their supply of alcohol right from their own homes. A recent popular Christian speaker noted the following police report he read recently. It appeared that a police officer had the heartbreaking experience of taking a drunken teenager home. when he delivered the boy over to his parents, the parents ask, "is he smoking marijuana or taking drugs?" "No," said the police officer, "he is drinking alcohol." And the parents responded, "Thank goodness, we told him if he wouldn’t smoke pot or take drugs, we would allow him to drink all the beer he wanted." Listen folks, those parents are deceived into thinking that there is acceptability to drinking alcohol. In L.A. and in N.Y.C., and in Washington D.C. and yes in Erie, PA also by enlarge it is no big deal to drink. There are an estimated 1.3 million boys and girls in this country from 12 y/o to 18 y/o who already have a serious drinking problem.

Let’s look close at what the Bible says about alcohol. Soloman wrote under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit as recorded for us in Proverbs 20:1,

"Wine (alcoholic beverage)is a mocker..." The Living Bible says "Wine gives false courage, hard liquor leads to brawls." Listen to God’s Word wine is literally a liar, wine gives false courage and wine always promises what wine cannot deliever. Wine promises pleasure and pays off in pain. The Biblical word for "wine..." is a general term used about 135 times in the Old Testament, and refers to all kinds of fruit of the vine from grape juice to fermented fruit of the vine that can cause drunkedness. Notice closely, Wine gives false courage or we could say false hope.

Alcohol promises pleasure

Alcohol promises social acceptance

Alcohol promises appealing motchoism

Alcohol promises sexual appeal

The pages of magazines and the television screen would make you think if you just drink light beer, the Silver bullet, Red Dog, or Miller High Life that your friends would just love you and your problems will fade away.

When you are depressed it will make you happy,

When you are a nobody it will make you a somebody,

When you are cold it will make you hot,

Somehow advertising never shows, the real finished product of alcohol.