Who has woe? Who has sorrow? Who has contentions? Who has complaints? Who has wounds without cause? Who has redness of eyes? Those who linger long at the wine, those who go in search of mixed wine. Do not look on the wine when it is red, when it sparkles in the cup, when it swirls around smoothly; at the last it bites like a serpent, and stings like a viper. Your eyes will see strange things, and your heart will utter perverse things. Yes, you will be like one who lies down in the midst of the sea, or like one who lies at the top of the mast, saying: “They have struck me, but I was not hurt; they have beaten me, but I did not feel it. When shall I awake, that I may seek another drink?” (Proverbs 23:29-35)

The Foolishness Of Alcohol

Solomon observed there was nothing new under the sun. Since the beginning of time, humanity has repeated the same mistakes and faces the same challenges as any other generation. The “modern man” is relative to the time it is said, and everyone thinks their generation is the updated, new, modernized form of human wisdom. What makes the spirit of man humorous is the belief that his generation is smarter than the previous.

The consumption of alcohol is as old as the world filled with sin. Fruit trees were created on the third day of creation. After Adam and Eve were expelled from the garden, it did not take long for man to understand the process of taking various kinds of fruit to create beverages. The first suggestion of the abuse of alcohol can be assumed when the Lord looks upon the world and saw that every intent of the thoughts of man’s heart was evil.

Drunkenness has always been at the top of the list of sinful behavior. After the flood, Noah planted a vineyard and drank the wine and was drunk. He exposed himself to his sons, leading to the curse of Canaan for laughing at his father. After God destroyed the cities of the plain, including Sodom and Gomorrah, the two daughters of Lot got their father drunk and committed incest to bear children. Alcohol has destroyed many lives.

Solomon presents some practical wisdom about the dangers of drink. The foolishness of alcohol is the anguish it brings, the sorrows it creates, and the fighting that comes as a result. How foolish. Alcohol brings about destruction. Wounds are unexplained. The eyes are bloodshot. It is utterly foolish for a man to be enthralled by the poison of alcohol, and yet it has always been one of the strongest temptations known to men.

Families are destroyed by the foolish nature of those seeking out the conjuror of evil. Countless innocent lives have been snuffed out because of the uncontrolled effects of its power to kill. The irony of its poison is that it looks inviting as it sparkles in the glass, glistening in the siren call to find happiness at the bottle of the bottle; and in the end find nothing but death. It is a poisonous snake that stings like a viper. Solomon shows the futility of dealing with evil as a man who takes fire into his bosom, expecting not to be burned. If a man plays with fire, he will be burned.

A greater foolishness of alcohol is the degradation it brings on a man who will see strange things, hallucinations, and say crazy things, staggering as a sailor tossed at sea, clinging to a swaying mast. What a fool he makes of himself. A drunk can feel no pain and will not realize he is being attacked. When it is all over, he will stand up and go looking for another drink. What a fool. How great a fool he makes of himself.

Defending the practice of ‘drinking’ is a fool’s errand performed by fools who believe they are smarter than the Lord. Nothing is new under the sun because there were fools in the days of Solomon, just as there are fools today. Who has woe? Foolish people who think they are stronger than temptation and smarter than the evil one. How sad to see lives destroyed over a liquid, a substance of no value but of eternal consequence. The wise man abstains from every form of evil – including what sparkles in the cup. Don’t be fooled into being a fool.