Let's not show our own foolishness with alcohol.
[Proverbs 20:1]
Why do you think people get drunk? I saw an article on the internet and this is what it says regrading why people drink from Monday to Sunday (Internet): 'Monday is - the day of drinking; Tuesday - a hot day to drink; Wednesday – a day to drink from time to time; Thursdays - the day of drinking with a long neck; Friday - the day of drinking soon and drinking again; Saturdays - a day of drinking until you vomit; Sunday - the day of drinking until you cannot get up. The same internet article mentions about following as well: ‘A cup is said to drink for health. If it is hot, you drink for pleasure. And if it gets drunk, there will be indulgent behavior and madness (Internet). One of the reasons for drinking is that it feels good. Why do people feel better when they drink alcohol? The reason is that when you drink a little alcohol, the central and peripheral nerves are initially excited, the secretion of the stomach is promoted, and the neurotransmitter called dopamine is secreted. However, alcohol overuse or long-term abuse can lead to brain cell destruction, which, unfortunately, inhibits brain function. If not, normally 100,000 brain cells die automatically every day. Drinking a lot of alcohol causes more brain cells to die. Both academic and memory or thinking abilities decline and their decline is directly proportional to the concentration of alcohol. When you drink alcohol too much, you cannot remember what you said and what you did. This is called ‘film break’ phenomenon. Another man says he drinks because these reasons: ‘I drink when I have good things. I drink when I have bad things. I drink when I have something to celebrate. I drink to get acquainted. I drink to confess. I drink in order to forget a person whom I missed. I drink alcohol when I am upset. I drink when I want to see someone. I drink when my heart is depressed and when it rains. I drink when I am tired of exhaustion. I drink for unity. I drink because of curiosity. I drink drink when I am lonely’ (Internet).
What do you think about drinking? As a Christian, do you think you can drink alcohol or do you think you shouldn't? What is the reason? When I went to the website of an anti-Christian club, there is writing that said, ‘Ten reasons why I don't want to attend church ….’ And the fourth reason was written like this: ‘Fourth, there was a time when a pastor said that I shouldn't drink. So I didn't take a drink in a difficult situation. Everyone in the world understood. However, people who claim to be Christians rather pointed at me.. A few drinks are okay .. Take it. I was shocked .. Moreover, they were the sons of the deacons and the elders of the church who said that to me. … I was completely deceived. Because I listened to the pastor innocently, I was ruined. These days I have been drinking. I like it... These days, if we live according to the Bible, we will die. The reason is because we will be criticized by Christians’ (Internet). As I read this fourth reason, I thought that at least the person who wrote this article thought that he shouldn’t drink according to the pastor's words and to him it was considered as living according to the Bible. But the problem is, as the writer said, those who are the sons of the elders and deacons of the church think it's okay to drink. That's why he seems to have been drinking to avoid being criticized by Christians. Actually, I heard that the elders or deacon's sons of the church drink alcohol, not to mention that there are a lot of pastors who drink alcohol these days. In particular, I heard that some of the second-generation pastors drink alcohol, even though they are from conservative seminary in the United States. So I remember that one day a brother in Christ who visited our conservative seminary came to me and told me that he was disappointed to see some of the students drinking alcohol. One day I went to a Christian bookstore and saw the title of the book, which is ‘77 Reasons I Don't Want to Go to Church.’ The author Man-jae Lee, who received Jesus in their late 40s and has written stead seller books called ‘The Steamed Bun with Red Bean Paste Filling’ and ‘The Steamed Bun in the World’. Among the many religious information obtained through broadcasting life, this person saw the decrease in the growth rate of new recruits and the successive departure of the church among the younger generation as the cause of the slowdown in overall social growth, especially since the mid to late 1980s. That was why he wrote that book ‘77 Reasons I Don't Want to Go to Church’. The sixth of the 77 reasons is ‘I don't understand a church that doesn't even understand alcohol and tobacco!’ ‘Although I am not entirely advocating alcohol and cigarettes, I believe that both sides of understanding coexist in all things. Nevertheless, if I must go to church, I will consider it after quitting alcohol and smoking later’ (Internet). Actually, as Man-jae Lee said, I think there are many unbelievers who will consider going to church after quitting alcohol and smoking. The reason is because they think that in order to go to church they shouldn’t smoke and drink alcohol. Of course, not all unbelievers think so. Many other people are going to church while smoking and drinking. And some of them don't feel guilty about drinking alcohol and smoking. Actually it seems that many Christians think it's okay to smoke and to drink.
When we discuss whether it is okay for us Christians to drink alcohol or not, the important thing is what the Bible says. A theologian concluded on this matter, demonstrating that the Bible clearly states not to get drunk, explaining that drunkenness is a serious sin and forbidden. Then he distinguished between drunkenness and drinking and pointed out that it was true that Jesus and his disciples drank wine to the extent they were not drunk. And he said that drinking is a matter of “Adiaphora” in Romans 14 and 1 Corinthians 8. In other words, he said it was a problem that could be like this or that. ‘The believer may or may not eat the food prohibited in the Old Testament in accordance with the principle of freedom and knowledge in Christ, that is, in Christ that the shadow of the Old Testament is materialized and therefore doesn’t need to be restricted by the Old Testament food regulations. You may or may not smoke. It is not a biblical attitude to condemn too much from the standpoint of a non-drinking believer for a glass of alcohol as a courtesy at a public stand, or to condemn too much for seeing a theologian or missionary from another country smoking. However, on the contrary, it is not a biblical attitude that a believer who drinks and smokes moderately within the limit of not being drunk, sees a believer who doesn’t, and condemns that believer that he has weak faith and smokes in front of him boldly. Moreover, defiantly smoking alcohol in order to educate and strengthen ‘weak believers’ who don’t smoke and drink alcohol is in direct conflict with the attitude of the apostle Paul. Paul didn’t say that he would eat meat and drink alcohol in order to strengthen the faith of the ‘believers with weak faith’ in this sense. On the contrary, if wine or meat causes the brothers to stumble, he determined not to drink wine or eat meat (meat prohibited in the Old Testament) forever’ (Internet). In conclusion, this theologian's conclusion is that in light of the perception that alcohol and tobacco are harmful to the body and to the family, applying the principle of love and good health [the principle of tolerance fundamentally established for those who are weak in faith (Internet)] is that it makes sense not to smoke and not to drink (Internet).
Rather than answering the question of whether or not we should smoke and/or drink, I want to think about 3 things based on Proverbs 20:1, “Wine is a mocker, strong drink a brawler, And whoever is intoxicated by it is not wise,” and receive the lessons that God gives us.
First, what we need to think about is what “wine” or “strong drink” is in Proverbs 20:1.
The reason I thought that we need to think about this is because in the days of King Solomon and the Old Testament, it was questionable whether “wine” and “strong drink” could be equated with “alcohol” in our time. Do you think “wine” and “strong drink” in the Old Testament can be equated with the alcohol of our day? Perhaps you may say “No’ to this question. In fact, “wine” is said to have been the most intoxicating liquor (beverage) in those days. All wines at that time were light wines, that is, wines with low alcohol content in today's words. Alcohol with strong concentration is said to have been known since the Arabs invented distillation in the Middle Ages [‘Distillation’ refers to collecting vapor and discharging liquid when making alcohol to make the alcohol content higher than that of original alcohol (Internet)]. And the word “alcohol” is also Arabic. It is said that “liquor” or strong liquor began to emerge from the Middle Ages. Therefore, it is said that 20% fortified wines are unknown in Bible times (Vine). Therefore, in Bible times, drunkenness was not as common as it is today, unlike alcoholism as it is spoken of in our time (Harris). Nevertheless, God forbade people to get drunk in the Bible times. So, what should we do now living in the 21st century?
The Bible Proverbs 20:1 refers to “strong drink” in addition to “wine”. What is “strong drink” here? Here, “strong drinking” is a drink made of barley, jujube, or pomegranate to make drinkers drunk (Isa. 28:7). Therefore, in the Bible, the priests (Lev. 10:9) and the Nasilites (Num. 6:1-3) and others (Isa. 5:11) also forbade drinking (Walvoord). For example, in Isaiah 28:7, the Bible says, “And these also reel with wine and stagger from strong drink: The priest and the prophet reel with strong drink, They are confused by wine, they stagger from strong drink; They reel while having visions, They totter when rendering judgment.” Can you imagine how God's servants, priests and prophets, stumbled over wine and strong drink and made mistakes when they misresolve visions and misjudge them? What would you think if pastors were drunk and preached during Sunday worship? So God said to Aaron in Leviticus 10:9 – “Do not drink wine or strong drink, neither you nor your sons with you, when you come into the tent of meeting, so that you will not die--it is a perpetual statute throughout your generations.”
In this age we are living in, there are a lot of alcohols with very high alcohol content, and there are so many alcoholics because they drink them. Do you know what the world’s most alcoholic beverage is? It is called Vodka called Spiritas of Poland. The alcohol content is a whopping 96 degrees and is said to be close to pure alcohol. It is said to be strong liquor that makes your whole body feel on fire with just one sip. Then do you know what the lowest alcohol content in the world is? Many people think that it is “HI-CHU,” the new product of Lotte Chilsung in Korea. But it is said that HI-CHU contains 5-6% alcohol and 1% fruit juice. It is said that the alcohol content is similar to that of beer. However, there are even lower 4% beers. It is said to be the lowest alcohol content (Internet). In the US alone, it is said that 15 million people are alcoholics (Internet). In Korea, the number of alcoholics reached 2.2 million, and alcohol dependence, the predecessor of alcoholism, is said to be about one in five adults. Moreover, according to statistics from the World Health Organization (WHO), Koreans' per capita alcohol consumption is second in the world after Slovenia (Internet). If so, shouldn't we not listen to Ephesians 5:18, “And do not get drunk with wine …”, more than people in the Bible time?
Second, what we need to think about is the negative effects of “wine” and “strong drink” that are mentioned in Proverbs 20:1.
Look at Proverbs 20:1a – “Wine is a mocker, strong drink a brawler ….” When we translate this phrase into Hebrew, it says ‘Wine makes you haughty, and strong drink makes you fight ...‘ (Park). Here, the Bible is teaching us two things about the negative effects of wine and strong drink. It is none other than that wine and strong drink makes us haughty and fights. Do you think alcohol makes people arrogant? Have you ever seen a drunken person pretending to be selfish and despising others? When I thought of this, I remembered the feast of King Ahasuerus in Esther 1. In the third year of his throne, the Bible records that the feast was held for all his nobles and officials and military leaders, the princes, and the nobles of the providences (v. 3) for a full 180 days. King Ahasuerus displayed the vast wealth of his kingdom and the splendor and glory of his majesty (v. 4). Then the king gave a banquet, lasting 7 days (v. 5) and let each guest to drink in his own way (v. 8) in goblets of gold, each one different from the other because the royal wine was abundant (v. 7). The king instructed all the wine stewards to serve each man what he wished (v. 8). Then, on the seventh day, when the heart of the king was merry with wine, he commanded seven of his eunuchs to bring the queen Vashti to him in order to display her beauty to the people and nobles (vv. 10-11). But Queen Vashti refused to come at the king's command and the king became very angry and his wrath burned within him (v. 12) and eventually abolished the queen. In the end, didn’t King Ahasuerus try to boast of his beautiful wife, but became angry and divorced her because she didn’t listen to him? When a person becomes drunken like this, Satan will take away his understanding (Hos. 4:11), showing off his pride and arrogance, not only showing off himself, but also revealing his anger (Ref.: Isa. 16:6). That is why quarrels and fights even arise in the drinking seat (Prov. 20:1). So King Solomon said in Proverbs 22:10 – “Drive out the scoffer, and contention will go out, Even strife and dishonor will cease.”
In Proverbs 20:1, if we say in one word about the adverse effects of wine and strong drink on us, it is wine and strong drink leads us astray. Wine and strong drink leads us to the foolish way. And as it leads us to foolishness, not only it causes us to show anger right away (12:16), causes contention (20:3), but also causes us to mock at sin (14:9). After all, wine and strong drink makes us to display our own foolishness. In addition to this, the Bible tells us about the negative effects of wine and strong drink on us, which makes us poor. Look at Proverbs 23:21 – “For the heavy drinker and the glutton will come to poverty, And drowsiness will clothe one with rags.” And another negative impact displays our shame. A good example is the drunken Noah in Genesis 9. Look at Genesis 9:21 – “He drank of the wine and became drunk, and uncovered himself inside his tent.”
Third and last, what we need to think about is what we must do to avoid being deceived by the wine that makes us proud and the strong drink that makes us fight.
Look at Proverbs 20:1b – “… And whoever is intoxicated by it is not wise.”
(1) We must seek God’s wisdom.
The reason is because when we have the wisdom of God, we fear God and keep away from evil. We can also hate the pride and arrogance that God hates. Look at Proverbs 8:13 – “The fear of the LORD is to hate evil; Pride and arrogance and the evil way And the perverted mouth, I hate.” And when we have wisdom, we will not be deceived by wine or strong drink and walk on the foolish way. So we must long for God's wisdom and ask God for it (Jam. 1:5).
(2) We must be filled with the Holy Spirit.
Look at Ephesians 5:18 – “And do not get drunk with wine, for that is dissipation, but be filled with the Spirit.” The apostle Paul is telling us to save time by paying careful attention to how we walk, not like the unwise, but like the wise (vv. 15-16). What is the reason? The reason is because the days are evil (v. 16). Then Paul said, “So then do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. And do not get drunk with wine, for that is dissipation, but be filled with the Spirit” (vv. 17-18). That is why the prophet Isaiah says in Isaiah 5:11, “Woe to those who rise early in the morning that they may pursue strong drink, Who stay up late in the evening that wine may inflame them!” This time we live is an evil time. We can know this because there are more and more fools. Who are the fools? Aren't they drunk without understanding the will of the Lord? See more and more alcoholics. In this time, we should not get drunk and should be filled with the Holy Spirit. Then we can glorify God by acting wisely in this evil time. I remember the words of Luke 1:15 I heard through the revival meeting guest pastor: “For he will be great in the sight of the Lord; and he will drink no wine or liquor, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit while yet in his mother's womb.”
(3) We must not be with heavy drinkers of wine.
Look at Proverbs 23:20 – “Do not be with heavy drinkers of wine, Or with gluttonous eaters of meat.” King Solomon recommends us not to be with heavy drinkers of wine, that is, who enjoys pleasure (Park). In Ecclesiastes 2, we can see King Solomon's pursuit of pleasure in order to test himself with pleasure and so enjoy himself (Eccle. 2:1-2). So what he tried on a trial was “wine” (v. 3). He tried to stimulate his body with wine while his mind was guiding him wisely (v. 3). King Solomon enjoyed drinking wine, as claimed by the Cyrene school in ancient Greece, by becoming the master of wine rather than becoming a slave to it. In other words, as the Cyrenes argued, King Solomon attempted to please himself with wine while controlling the pleasure of wine with his wisdom. However, his conclusion is that it was “embracing folly” (v. 3). In a word, it is foolish to try to enjoy pleasure by getting drunk. Why does King Solomon seem to be telling us not to associate with liquor lovers? The reason is so that we don’t imitate their foolishness like those who enjoy alcohol. If you can’t be influenced by them so badly that you don’t imitate their foolishness, I think that the purpose of associating with a drinker is to win his soul, that is his salvation.
(4) We should not get drunk.
Dr. Yoon-sun Park said that there are three reasons why the New Testament forbids all believers from getting drunk: (1) It is because a person cannot immediately discern the holy truth with a drunken spirit. (2) It is because it is easy for a person to commit many other sins by being drunk. (3) It is because people love the pleasures of alcohol more than God as much as they are ensnared by alcohol (2 Tim. 3:4). So I personally think that not drinking at all is better than drinking.
I personally know two people who died from alcohol. Both of them were shot dead in a bar. One was shot and killed by a security guard of the bar, and the other was quarried in another bar and was shot by other drinker. My unforgettable memory is that after the funeral of the friend who was shot and killed by the security guard of the bar, we had a meal at a restaurant, and his mother tried to witness to us, his friends. And yet, one more unforgettable memory is that when another friend's uncle cried and read the letter at the funeral of another friend, I still remember that he was kind of blaming his nephew’s friends, us. That's why I still pay a lot of attention when I am with my friends when they are drinking. And these are my friends whom I want to witness and share the gospel for their salvation. One of the things I care about is their safety. I am concerned if something will happen to them when they get drunk because they tend to drive their cars even after getting drunk. The reason I share my personal memories in this way is because when I think about Proverbs 20:1, I don't think strong drink is beneficial. Rather, I think strong drink harms us. One of those harms is that we show ourselves our own foolishness when we are drunk. That foolishness indicates our own arrogance and also causes contention. Therefore, we should refrain from strong drink and never get drunk.