The Evils of Alcoholic and Other Kinds of Drug Abuse
The Evils of Alcoholic and Other Kinds of Drug Abuse
A State police officer of the Tennessee Highway Patrol spoke
briefly over the NBC affliliate station in Nashville, Tennessee. He
said in substance, "If someone drives a car down the street with an
automatic firing weapon, shooting wildly at anyone in sight, there would
be a public outcry to get him off the street and into prison. When a
crazed person walked onto an elementary school playground in Stockton,
California, killing five innocent young children, the Californians
immediately cried out to ban such automatic weapons. But every day a
drunk person drives on the streets of your cities, indiscriminately
killing or maiming innocent victims. Where is the public outcry to ban
alcoholic beverages?" The officer went on to relate several instances in
which he had witnessed the broken hearts of innocent victim's relatives.
They lost their loved one to a person driving under the influence of
alcohol. He gave one startling statistic. "On any given weekend, in
any given city, one out of every ten drivers is too drunk to drive
safely." That is a frightening thought for one who drives the interstate
highways regularly. It is a frightening thought to any sober thinking
individual.
The West End Church of Christ presents these fifteen minute lessons
every Sunday. We have only one reason for doing it -- we want to preach
the truth of God's word without being restricted by human doctrines,
creeds, and wisdom. That is why we repeatedly ask anyone who listens to
communicate with us if you do not agree with what we teach on this
program. This is not done out of a spirit of dare, or challenge, but in
sincerity and in the interest of being absolutely right about the most
important issue of this life and of eternity.
We also want to invite you to attend our services. Bible study
begins at 9 a.m. Sunday morning. We have classes for all ages in which
the Bible is discussed and made relevant to living in this world today.
At 10 each Sunday morning we assemble to worship -- we honor God in the
reading and teaching of His word, several prayers, gospel songs, giving
of our means, and partaking of the sacred memorial feast of the Lord's
Supper. Sunday evening we assemble for worship at 6 p.m and mid-week
Bible study is each Wednesday night at 7 p.m.
We publish a monthly paper called "The Voice of West End." There is
no subscription price to it -- no donations are asked or accepted for it
-- it is the freest thing you will ever receive in the mail. So, if you
want to get it and read it write or call West End Church of Christ. Our
address is 1609 Parkside Drive, Bowling Green, KY. 42101 and our phone
is 842 7880. I will repeat that at the end of today's program.
The police officer's point, mentioned at the beginning of today's
program, is valid. Why is there no national outcry to ban alcoholic
beverages? There are several factors. Let's look into a few of them.
Consumption of alcoholic beverages is socially accepted. We cannot
go back to the old days of prohibition. That would be regressive,
negative, and limiting of freedoms, many people feel. In our modern
society we could not think that those of the early 1900s were smarter
than our enlightened world. Critics of the prohibitionists can cite
many mistakes made by such organizations as the Anti-Saloon Society, the
Prohibition Party, and the Women's Christian Temperance Union made. No
doubt mistakes were made, but has the permissive and wide-spread freedom
to distribute distilled spirits improved our society?
We live in a world where social drinking is accepted by over two-
thirds of our entire population. That segment also accepts just about
any other kind of drinking. But social drinking has been elevated a few
steps above ordinary honkey-tonk or bar room drinking. No matter what
name it is known by, drinking ethyl alcoholic beverages is a potential
danger. When it is given the prestigious moniker "social" drinking it
becomes more acceptable and as it becomes more acceptable it becomes
more dangerous.
But just what is social drinking? Social Drinking is described by
Carroll as follows:
"By definition, drinking is the consumption of beverages containing
ethyl alcohol. From a sociological viewpoint, drinking is described as
a particular group's customary way of using beverage alcohol. Such a
custom is learned by other members of that group and is continued by the
group because drinking serves to promote interpersonal relations and to
enhance feelings of camaraderie and solidarity. The pleasure derived
from drinking is primarily reciprocal, that is, drinking by one of the
group brings satisfaction to the other drinkers. Alcohol is seen as the
'social lubricant' in which the conscience is dissolved and rigid
inhibitions are lowered.For Americans, this social drinking is the
common way of using alcoholic beverages." Carroll, Charles R., Drugs in
Modern Society, 2nd Edition, William C. Brown Publisher, Dubuque, Iowa,
1989, page 106."
There are enough factors involved in the use and abuse of alcoholic
consumption to warrant intelligent people to strongly favor complete
prohibition again.
The apostle Paul wrote, "Now the works of the flesh are manifest
which are these: fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, idolatry,
witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions,
heresies, envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of
the which I tell you before, as I have also told [you] in time past,
that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God"
(Galatians 5:19-21)
The words here should register deeply in the heart of those who
fear God -- for those who do not fear God, may God give you more time to
reflect on where you are headed. The expression "shall not inherit the
kingdom of God" means primarily the loss of one's immortal soul in an
eternal hell. The expression may also very well mean that those
blessings awarded to those in Christ can never be enjoyed by one whose
life is filled with the works of the flesh. In other words, there is no
place for the individual who engages in these works of the flesh either
in the church now or heaven after a while.
But someone is probably going to think, "That condemns drunkeness -
- not drinking." But read with me again. Peter wrote, "For the time
past of [our] life may suffice us to have wrought the will of the
Gentiles, when we walked in lasciviousness, lusts, excess of wine,
revellings, banquetings, and abominable idolatries:" (I Peter 4:3).
Look carefully at the wording.
First, note the expression "excess of wine." That means very
clearly that a danger exists in the very act of drinking wine. But it
is not only the excess of wine that is condemned, notice also
"revellings." Revellings are boisterous parties in which drinking of
alcoholic beverages, or other mind altering substances are ingested
causing drunkenness. Then there is the word "banquetings." Another
word for it is drinking parties. The late G.W. Blenkin, a "Fellow" of
Trinity College in England, wrote on the term potois, "carousings,
drinking-parties," and noted that this is the single instance of the use
of this word in the entire New Testament. When people get together to
do what is called "partying" hardly anyone is interested unless either
drugs or alcohol is available. This is clearly and forthrightly
condemned in this passage.
But again, let me give a very simply test relative to any
consumption of alcohol at all. Is there any doubt that those who engage
in drunkenness, wine swillings, drug abuse, and the other works of the
flesh are endangering their immortal souls? Since that is a very real
and serious danger, what is the single best way to avoid ever being
drunk or inebriated? The answer I have is very simple -- never drink
alcohol, never use drugs of any kind for recreational purposes, and
never encourage others to do so. That is the best and sure fire way to
avoid any disasterous fall out from a sinful life.
If this sounds like someone wanting to return to the "Prohibition
Era," that cannot be helped. One of the strangest inconsistencies any
society has ever generated is the one where we legalize the sale and
consumption of ethly alcohol but make other drugs illegal. Prohibition
is a bad word in society, for it harks back to a so-called "Puritanical
Past." But have we improved things? Consider some rather startling
facts.
Alcoholic Consumption in America Supports a Huge Financial
Industry. Americans, today, spend an average of 31 billion dollars
annually on alcoholic beverages. That brings in around 13 billion
dollars in revenue and taxes. This makes it possible for our nation to
have better schools, roads, and public facilities -- among other things.
But the facts show clearly that this is the worst kind of business
procedure. The very same statistics show that between 117 and 120
billion dollars are required because of problems directly related to
alcohol consumption. These problems include deaths, loss of work
productivity, rehabilitation programs, the bureaucracy involved to
administrate it, the cost in property damage (including a huge amount
of automotive insurance costs in both premium increases, repair and/or
replacement of wrecked automobiles), law enforcement administration, and
prisons (already well over crowded). No business could remain in
operation with such figures on their books.
Look at those figures again. We have a homeless problem
that is escalating rapidly. If you subtract 13 billion dollars
from 117 billion (the conservative cost figure alcohol related problems
cause) you come up with 104 billion dollars. That might be appreciated
by some homeless people. And if alcoholic beverages were completely
eliminated, banned, prohibitted, and made unavailable would that not
reduce some of the homeless problem by eliminating at least some of the
"winos" and street drunks?
It is argued that if liquor is made illegal and unavailable someone
will find a way to illegally produce it. In some instances there may be
some merit to that argument. But, in the case of alcoholic consumption,
with its related problems and expense, will someone just show how
legalizing it, making it available, and taxing it has helped our nation
as a whole? That would be interesting.
If you have a question about any of these things that have been
said -- please contact us. Our mailing address is West End Church of
Christ, 1609 Parkside Drive, Bowling Green, Ky. 42101. If you would
like our free monthly paper, or any kind of Bible study materials, we
will try to help you. Well, thank you again
-- we appreciate the opportunity to come to you each Sunday on this
radio station and hope you'll be back here again next Sunday
-- 8 a.m. Goodbye and God bless you.
***** Read the Eighteenth Amendment. What is so restricting,
limiting and out of touch with reality about it?
THE EIGHTEENTH AMENDMENT
(Proposed 18 December 1917; Declared ratified 29 January 1919).
After one year from the ratification of this article, the manufacture,
sale, or transportation of intoxicating liquors within, the importation
thereof into, or the exportation thereof from the United States and all
territory subject to the jurisdiction thereof for beverage purposes is
hereby prohibited. The Congress and the several States shall have
concurrent power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.
This article shall be inoperative unless it shall have been
ratified as an amendment to the Constitution by the legislatures of the
several States as provided in the Constitution, within seven years from
the date of submission hereof to the States by the Congress.
Radio Sermon No. 33, Page 1
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Lyrics, Chords Tabs Rated
Children's NT Studies
