What's Up About Alcohol

According to Dr. Valee, the use of water for drinking was not widespread in the ancient world because most water supplies were contaminated, especially around towns and villages. Instead people drank beer and wine, sometimes perhaps using diluting the wine with water. According to Dr. Valee, "Throughout Western history the normal state of mind may have been one of mild inebriation."

Alcohol use changed radically in 700 AD when Arab chemists discovered out how to distill alcohol. This led to the ability to produce highly potent concentrations of alcohol. The wine and beer manufactured before the invention of distilling was relatively mild in its alcohol content. So a person had to really drink a lot to get intoxicated. But with the discovery of distilling, much more potent forms of alcohol could be manufactured.

As this technology spread throughout Europe, alcohol abuse became more and more widespread. Even in the 1800s, Benjamin Rush--a signer of our Declaration of Independence--worried about the increasing frequency of alcoholism early America. If he only knew.

The Bible was written at a time when almost everyone drank alcohol to some degree or another. But the Bible was written before people discovered distilling, so most alcoholic drinks had a low level of alcohol in them. So the Bible doesn’t forbid drinking alcohol. What the Bible warns about is getting drunk, being intoxicated by drinking large quantities of beer or wine. This text from Proverbs encourages us to understand the consequences of intoxication with alcohol.

2. The Promises Associated With Drinking (Proverbs 23:31-32)

Now imagine watching a TV commercial trying to sell you a new product. The announcer tells you that using this product will eventually produce despair and sorrow in your life. The more you use this product, the more isolated you’ll become from people. Using this product will cause all kinds of new problems in your life, including bodily injury and dulled senses. Because it’s Memorial Day weekend, you can buy this product at half price. Would you spend your money to buy that product? Of course not. But that’s now how alcohol is sold is it?

Look at vv. 31-32. Here we find our second action: We wise up about alcohol when we distrust the promises associated with it.

Even back when Proverbs was written, people who produced wine tried to make it look cool and refreshing. There was a whole lifestyle associated with beer and wine, a lifestyle that was carefully cultivated by those whose livelihood depended on people buying beer and wine. According to this text, the wine looks refreshing, sparkling in the cup and going down smoothly. But the appearance you see at first is quite different than the viper’s bite it delivers once it’s in your system. It’s like a harmless looking snake that suddenly hisses and strikes you with its venomous fangs.

Some things never change. Our culture today tries to sell us alcohol by creating a fantasy around drinking. Think about the slogans of beer commercials. Budweiser’s current slogan: "True." Miller Genuine Draft’s current slogan: "Pure." Or the current slogan for Coors: "The official sponsor of guy’s night out."