You’ve probably noticed that St. Patrick’s Day has degenerated into a day for excessive drinking. I’m sure St. Patrick would have been very disappointed that a day named in his honor had ended up that way. There are some good reasons that people shouldn’t drink in excess. Of course one important reason is that you’re out of control, and you could say or do things that are foolish. Proverbs 20:1 says, “Wine is a mocker and beer a brawler; whoever is led astray by them is not wise.” Below is a music video by Brad Paisley that I ran across. In a very creative way, the video pinpoints many ways indulgence in alcohol can affect your life. I invite you to click and watch.

(Videos suggested at the end of this video are not necessarily endorsed by this website)

Beyond the effects of excessive drinking brought up in the song above, the effect that excessive drinking has on your body is another big consideration. We all know of the harmful effects over-indulging has on your liver, but that’s just “the tip of the iceberg.”  On the dailystar.co.uk website, there is an article dated April 2, 2017, entitled, “What ONE binge drinking session does to your body will shock you.” The article states that even over-indulging once in a while can hurt your health permanently and severely. A single event can allow bacteria to leak from your intestines and raise levels of toxins in your bloodstream. This can stimulate your body to make “immune cells involved in fever, inflammation, and tissue destruction.”

Ill Effects From the Bible

Proverbs 23:29-33 describes well the enticement and the ill effects of drinking. Verse 32 says, “In the end it bites like a snake and poisons like a viper.” I found a usatoday.com article of 2015 called “Report: Binge drinking kills 6 a day—and most are men.” These deaths are known as “alcohol poisoning.” It happens when blood alcohol levels rise enough to shut down the areas of the brain that operate breathing, heart rate, and body temperature. Confusion, trouble staying conscious, vomiting, breathing difficulty, a reduced heart rate, and clamminess are all red flags. Alcohol poisoning is caused by binge drinking. The article acknowledges that the amount of alcohol that is dangerous differs in individuals. The Center for Disease Control considers binge drinking to be four or more drinks in approximately two hours for women or five or more drinks in approximately two hours for men. The article relates that some drinkers will down eight drinks within a short period of time.

Binge Drinking

Another article on the dailystar.co.uk website says that definitions of binge drinking vary, and everyone’s level of tolerance is different. One definition of binge drinking is simply “drinking lots of alcohol in a short space of time or drinking to get drunk.” The article informs us that one unit of alcoholic beverage contains 8 grams of pure alcohol. It says both men and women should avoid more than 14 units [112 grams] per week in order to keep the risk of effects low. [The website for the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism tells us that a standard American drink has 14 grams of pure alcohol. That would usually be a 12-oz. regular beer, a 5-oz. glass of wine, or a 1 ½ oz. of distilled spirits.]

Good Effects?

Some webmd.com articles provide some information about possible good or bad effects of alcohol. One article indicates that people who drink a glass of wine or beer each day have 20% fewer infections due to the bacteria that causes stomach ulcers. Another webmd.com article suggests that alcohol can raise good cholesterol 20%. Still another article says a glass of wine can also have a good effect on the bacteria lining the colon. A study showed moderate drinkers had 23% less risk of mental decline. However, one article says beer or wine can trigger acid reflux, which can increase chances of contracting cancer of the esophagus. Keeping drinking moderate is always advised. A harvard.edu article reminds us that pregnant women should not drink.

More Serious Effects

I saw other web articles that spoke of other very serious health problems caused by drinking—too many for me to go into. And I haven’t even touched on the terrible emotional pain that drinking can cause for families or the permanent damage caused to children exposed to alcohol while in the womb, called “Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder.”

In I Timothy 5:3 Paul advised Timothy , “Stop drinking water only, and drink a little wine because of your stomach and your frequent illness.” My Quest Study Bible states that Jews and Greeks of Bible times frequently used wine for medicinal purposes. An oregonlive.com article of 2010 called “Wine for Thy Stomach’s Sake” give some interesting perspectives. It mentions that Paul wasn’t encouraging drinking socially and that pure, unpolluted water can be difficult to find in the Middle East.

The article goes on to say that the word “wine” in the Bible may sometimes refer to fermented juice and sometimes unfermented (new) wine, meaning freshly squeezed grape juice.  The article also states that recent studies show grape juice has the same disease-combating antioxidants as fermented wine. On top of that, alcoholic drinks don’t seem to have the same ability to “improve the function of cells in blood vessel linings” that grape juice has. And alcohol produces free radicals that can damage blood vessels.

Should Christians Abstain?

Should Christians abstain completely from alcoholic drinks? If someone in your presence is addicted to alcohol, drinking in their presence may be helping them stay addicted. Also, if someone in your presence has a sensitive conscience in that area and feels they shouldn’t take one drink, taking a drink in front of them may tempt them to go against their convictions. This is a principle taught in I Corinthians 8:4-13.

Whether or not we feel it’s alright to have one drink, we know that God does not want us to get drunk. Ephesians 5:18 instructs, “Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery [wild partying]. Instead, be filled with the Spirit . . .” Don’t many people binge drink to feel happy and relaxed? Galatians 5:22 teaches us that joy and peace are fruits of the Holy Spirit. If you are a believer, you are promised the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. Ephesians 1:13 say, “When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit . . .” Getting drunk is a cheap substitute for the genuine joy and peace available from the Holy Spirit.

In reading about St. Patrick’s life, I discovered that he was apparently a man full of the Holy Spirit. If we have received Christ as our Savior, but seem to be lacking the joy and peace available through the Holy Spirit, what can we do? Jesus’ own words in John 15:10-11 teach us how we can have joy. He said, “If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father’s commands and remain in his love. I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.” In Philippians 4:6-7, Paul gives this advice: “Do not be anxious about anything, but by prayer and thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” So we might sum up the secrets of having joy and peace as studying God’s Word and applying it to our own lives and giving our worries to God through prayer. We will all experience trying times that will threaten our joy and peace. In those times we should make sure we continue to try to follow the teachings of the Bible, take comfort from its promises, and spend some extra time praying.

In John 14:26&27, Jesus said, “But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives.” The kind of peace God gives can’t be found in a bottle or a can.

I remember a verse my mother would quote to me when I was very young and had nighttime fears. It sounded a little different in the King James Version, but the NIV Version says, “You will keep in prefect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in you.” I also remember a hymn about peace that I often heard—“Wonderful Peace.” In the video below, the hymn is sung in the background by the Vogle Brothers, while beautiful scenes are shown. I discovered that the Vogle Brothers are a quartet who really are brothers—full-blooded Norwegians from Minnesota. At first they only sang at family events. After making a CD for the family they found themselves in demand and began singing at other functions. In their version of “Wonderful Peace,” they left out two verses, one of which is one of my favorites:

“What a treasure I have in this wonderful peace,

Buried deep in the heart of my soul;

So secure that no power can mine it away,

While the years of eternity roll.”

Enjoy the rest of the song by clicking on the video below.

Scriptures taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc. TM Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com The “NIV” and “New International Version” are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc. TM

(Videos suggested at the end of this video are not necessarily endorsed by this website)