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Alcohol I am coming for you.
I got drunk the first time around 12 years of age and I continued to abuse alcohol until my late 30’s. I appreciated the ability to “unwind” and disengage from society through alcohol. Alcohol gave me the ability to overcome feelings of inadequacy. It felt like my superpower, but it was a millstone around my neck. It is hard to play with an addictive substance recreationally for decades and not get burned.
I thankfully got sober before 2020 but seeing all the memes about mothers needing to get drunk to survive being home with their children broke my heart. Society has been tricked through marketing; we believe alcohol makes you powerful when it makes you powerless. We live in a culture where alcohol abuse is not only accepted it is embraced as a socially acceptable way to blow off steam and unwind. I equated alcohol with freedom, which could not be further from the truth, alcohol is oppression. Pure, raw, soul-crushing oppression.
What does the Bible have to say about alcohol? I was shocked when I dug into scripture on this topic back in 2019. Alcohol is not forbidden by scripture, and my writing is not an attempt to advocate prohibition. This is my testimony on the importance of informed consent, alcohol is a drug, an enormously powerful numbing agent. Just because society tells you it is okay to get drunk if you do not drive and that you have earned the right to a bottle of wine because you have been home all day with your children does not make it the truth. I get the truth from the Bible and here are some of the things it has to say about alcohol.
Wine is a mocker,
Strong drink is a brawler,
And whoever is led astray by it is not wise.
Proverbs 20:1 NKJV
29 Who has woe?
Who has sorrow?
Who has contentions?
Who has complaints?
Who has wounds without cause?
Who has redness of eyes?
30 Those who linger long at the wine,
Those who go in search of mixed wine.
31 Do not look on the wine when it is red,
When it sparkles in the cup,
When it swirls around smoothly;
32 At the last it bites like a serpent,
And stings like a viper.
33 Your eyes will see strange things,
And your heart will utter perverse things.
Proverbs 23:29-33 NKJV
Sobriety is not easy in a world that glamorizes its abuse, it is the only addictive substance that if you quit you must justify.
Did you quit smoking? Good for you! Ahh, that stuff will kill you!
But I cannot tell you the number of times when I say I do not drink, or I quit drinking it is followed up with a well-meaning “why?” That is not the fault of the curious friend, it is the fault of a society that embraces works of the flesh.
19 Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, 20 idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, 21 envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.
Galatians 5:19-21 NKJV
Both in 1 Timothy and Titus alcohol is referenced with regards to leadership positions in the Church.
3 Not given to wine, no striker, not greedy of filthy lucre; but patient, not a brawler, not covetous;
1 Timothy 3:1-13 (3) NKJV
7 For a bishop must be blameless, as a steward of God, not self-willed, not quick-tempered, not given to wine, not violent, not greedy for money,
Titus 1:5-7 (7) NKJV
Back in 2002 when I was completing a background check I was asked about my drinking, I downplayed it to being drunk 2-3 times a month which sounded reasonable. At the end of the interview, I was encouraged to reflect on my drinking to the point of intoxication 2-3 times a month as potentially problematic drinking. I was shocked and completely brushed it off. It was 17 years later, after over a year of sobriety that I remembered that conversation and thought. Wow, he was right. I have countless other examples, some ended with brutal hangovers and enough regret to fill a stadium other like this interview should have served to pump my breaks and reflect on my consumption.
I do not intend to sound naïve, but I never really recognized the power of alcohol over my life. And maybe you are reading this and thinking wow, I have no clue what she is talking about, good, what a blessing! But maybe, just maybe you are reading this and some of the words resonate, if so, it is not your fault. You were tricked but now that you know it is time to do something about it. Call out to Jesus, ask for forgiveness, ask Him to break the chains of addiction, to relieve you of any feelings of shame and disappointment and to start the healing process. He will!
When I gave up alcohol, I could not comprehend beyond my perceived loss. I remember thinking, how would I ever dance in public again, and what if I am not funny? Rest assured, I am funny, and I dance great without alcohol in my system. Although my husband might argue both those points.
I had no understanding of how the decision to stop playing with an addictive substance would reset the trajectory of my entire life. Put down the glass of wine you think you earned and be filled with the overwhelming, jaw-dropping, knee-shaking power of the Holy Spirit.
18 And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit,
Ephesians 5:18
Lord, I know this message is not for everyone who reads it, but I ask a special blessing on anyone who reads these words, and they resonate. That they may have the strength through You to recognize the bait and switch that has been played on society. That we were sold strength and freedom yet bought oppression in a cleverly marketed bottle. I call out in the name of Jesus to break the chains of addiction, heal wounded hearts and bring my lost brothers and sisters home. They are loved beyond measure!
-Amen