A month ago,while walking to my friend's house I came across an ironic statement.A truck was written,"say no to underage drinking.It takes a village to raise a child".What I found ironic and saddening was that,these same individuals who produce alcohol are the same cause for broken families.Many children have to raise themselves because their mothers and fathers are slaves to alcohol.
I grew up watching families where everyone was a drunkard.From the grandparents,to the aunts,and this only resulted in children who were not taken care of and whose needs were not really taken into consideration.I've watched children having to drop out of school because the mother used the money to feed her drunkenness.These children then spend much time in the street and are exposed to many evils.
But one mental image I still hold and still hurts me is one of a young boy of about 4 years of age who had to drag his staggering,drunken mother away from the road.This made me tear up and I often wonder what future does this little boy have?In fact,he was begging his mother tearfully to not go to the mainroad.I and my mom managed to get her atleast inside the vicinity.
Recently,a college student raped a certain woman because of alcohol.Women suffer abuse in the hands of their drunk husbands.Alcohol is a curse to mankind.Homes have been broken,the future of many children turned into darkness because of a father who drinks rather than pay for the fees of the child.Many a child has to go to bed on an empty stomach,not due to employment,but because of alcoholism.Many have died due to drunken driving,some raped,beaten and mistreated because of this poison.
Marriage Vows Melted in the Fiery Liquid.—Look upon the
drunkard’s home. Mark the squalid poverty, the wretchedness, the
unutterable woe that are reigning there. See the once happy wife fleeing
before her maniac husband. Hear her plead for mercy as the cruel blows
fall on her shrinking form. Where are the sacred vows made at the
marriage altar? where is the love to cherish, the strength to protect
her now? Alas, these have been melted like precious pearls in the fiery
liquid, the cup of abominations! Look upon those half-naked children.
Once they were cherished tenderly. No wintry storm, nor the cold breath
of the world’s contempt and scorn, was permitted to approach them. A
father’s care, a mother’s love, made their home a paradise. Now all is
changed. Day by day the cries of agony wrenched from the lips of the
drunkard’s wife and children go up to heaven.—The Review and Herald,
November 8, 1881/Temperance,p31
The devil Himself is the author of the wine,that is,fermented wine.
SOP tells us that the devil met with his angels in a counsel to devise ways in which they could destroy mankind and after so many suggestions,the devil came to the conclusion of fermenting wine to alcohol.I just forgot the reference-I'll try to remember it.But consider these scary statements:
Indulgence in intoxicating liquor places a man wholly under the
control of the demon who devised this stimulant in order to deface and
destroy the moral image of God.—Manuscript 1, 1899/Temperance,32
Behind the
liquor seller stands the mighty destroyer of souls, and every act which
earth or hell can devise is employed to draw human beings under his
power.--Temperance,24
Thus he [Satan] works when
he entices men to sell the soul for liquor. He takes possession of body,
mind, and soul, and it is no longer the man, but Satan, who acts. And the
cruelty of Satan is expressed as the drunkard lifts his hand to strike down
the wife he has promised to love and cherish as long as life shall last. The
deeds of the drunkard are an expression of Satan’s violence.—Medical
Ministry, 114/Temperance,32
Of course we may argue that the consumer is not forced to buy alcohol but the Bible counsels us to be careful when we exercise our freedom;not be stumbling blocks to the weak (1 Corinthians 8:9).The principle of love is that it does no harm (Romans 13:10).In fact,God does not entertain those who sell alcohol.He holds them accountable.
“Woe unto him that buildeth his house by unrighteousness, and his chambers by wrong; ... that saith, I will build me a wide house and large chambers, and cutteth him out windows; and it is ceiled with cedar, and painted with vermilion. Shalt thou reign, because thou closest thyself in cedar? ... Thine eyes and thine heart are not but for thy covetousness, and for to shed innocent blood, and for oppression, and for violence, to do it.” Jeremiah 22:13-17.
The Responsibility of the Liquor Dealer.—Those who sell
intoxicating liquor to their fellow men ... receive the earnings of the
drunkard, and give him no equivalent for his money. Instead of this, they
give him that which maddens him, which makes him act the fool, and
turns him into a demon of evil and cruelty.But angels of God have witnessed every step in the downward path,
and have traced every consequence that resulted from a man’s placing
the bottle to his neighbor’s lips. The liquor dealer is written in the
records among those whose hands are full of blood. He is condemned for
keeping on hand the poisonous draft by which his neighbor is tempted to
ruin, and by which homes are filled with wretchedness and degradation.
The Lord holds the liquor dealer responsible for every penny that comes
to his till out of the earnings of the poor drunkard, who has lost all moral
power, who has sunk his manhood in drink.—The Review and Herald,
May 8, 1894/Temperance,39,40
There will be no excuse for the liquor dealers in that day
when every man shall receive according to his works. Those who have
destroyed life, will by their own life have to pay the penalty. God’s law
is holy and just and good.—Letter 90, 1908/Temperance,41,42
Research shows:
High Percentage of Crime Attributable to Liquor.—Nine tenths of
those who are taken to prison are those who have learned to drink.—The
Review and Herald, May 8, 1894/Temperance,23
The Testimony of the Judiciary.—The relation of crime to
intemperance is well understood by men who have to deal with those
who transgress the laws of the land. In the words of a Philadelphia judge:
“We can trace four fifths of the crimes that are committed to the influence
of rum. There is not one case in twenty where a man is tried for his life,
in which rum is not the direct or indirect cause of the murder. Rum and
blood, I mean the shedding of blood, go hand in hand.”—Drunkenness
and Crime, page 7/Temperance,23
Ever thought of the good the money used in alcohol could make?I always have.
The Starving Might Be Fed.—The cries of the starving millions in
our world would soon be hushed if the money put into the tills of the
liquor sellers were spent in alleviating the sufferings of humanity. But
the evil is constantly increasing. The youth are being educated to love
the vile stuff, and this is ruining them, soul and body. The work they
might do in God’s vineyard they refuse to do.—Manuscript 139, 1899/Temperance,29
Something worth think about.I'll definitely do a further study on this and hopefully in the future,I'll continue writing about it.
One interesting thing?I once read three articles on the effect of alcohol on the brain.Before I share the findings,consider this:the brain cells,neurons,cannot be multiplied!They can only be depleted and everytime you drink,they are destroyed but of course with age as well.
In the study they found that occasional drinking,once in a while,also causes deterioration including loss of planning,decision making and reasoning amongst other brain functions.The part of the brain that allows us to be able to execute these tasks is the frontal lobe.So,if you lose this function,you are likely to rely on the limbic system.The limbic system is part of the brain,found in the cerebral cortex that consist of the hippocampus ,basal ganglia and amygdala.The hippocampus is for memory-allows us to remember things and the amygdala is where emotions sit.So,you are likely to be controlled by emotions as you would have lost your reasoning capacities.You definitely don't want that.Consider this,God calls us to come and 'reason' with Him (Isaiah 1:18) considering our sin problem.But how can we reason if we've lost this capability?
God calls us to give ourselves as a living sacrifice-this being our 'reasonable' service (Romans 12:1-2).God appeals to the frontal lobe and not to the emotions.Could there be a link between alcohol and our salvation?Things to consider.
Interesting findings on moderate drinking,consider this:
Moderate Drinking.—Moderate drinking is the school in which men
are receiving an education for the drunkard’s career.—The Review and
Herald, March 25, 1884/Temperance,30
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