The Alluring Temptation of Alcohol

Isaiah 5:11-12 (NLT)
11 What sorrow for those who get up early in the morning looking for a drink of alcohol and spend long evenings drinking wine to make themselves flaming drunk. 12 They furnish wine and lovely music at their grand parties—lyre and harp, tambourine and flute—but they never think about the Lord or notice what he is doing.

There verses speak of the woe to those who dote upon the pleasures and delights of sense. Sensuality ruins men as certainly as worldliness and oppression. Here we find those who search long hours for the delight of alcohol until they find themselves flaming drunk. Yet they never think about the Lord or notice what He is attempting to do in their lives; they live without God heading toward self-destruction.

 

I once listened to the testimony of a man who was a recovering alcoholic. It was disturbing listening to him as he described the seductive appeal of alcohol. He described how alcohol seduced him like a temptress. It started with the ice as it was being put into the glass. Each clink of an ice cube hitting the glass was like pleasant music giving rise to his desire for alcohol. Then as it poured freely from the bottle the aroma filled the air with a delightful smell of alluring seduction. Then as he pressed the glass to his lips the flavor brought lustful desire for the drink he was holding and he began to drink.

The problem was that when the seduction of one glass was over the next glass began call out to him all over again. The alcohol seduced him until it took him to a point of intoxication he could not deal with. His senses and thoughts were overpowered. The alcohol caused him to fall prey and it lured him in like a spider entangling him in his sinful desire for alcohol. It was not only damaging to him, but also to the relationship with his family.

It wasn’t until this person found out about the redeeming mercy and grace of Jesus that he was able to quit his drinking problem. Realizing Christ loved him for who he was began a process of change. Christ now appealed to him instead of the alcohol. Christ beckoned him to follow Him instead of a drink. Christ transformed his life and saved him from his own self destruction.  

If you know someone with a drinking problem reach out for professional help. Your church, Al-Anon or similar organizations can help educate you on how you can help. Remember the alcoholic has to be the one who wants change, but Christ or Christ working through us can lead them to change.