August 23

Aug 23 - Today from Proverbs 23 we look at verses 29 & 30
"Who has woe? Who has sorrow? Who has strife? Who has complaints? Who has needless bruises? Who has bloodshot eyes? Those who linger over wine, who go to sample bowls of mixed wine."

The key to all wisdom is to understand God's purposes. He created man to live in a trust relationship with Himself, and with one another. Mankind was to be a harmonious servant-community living in the splendor of the abundant grace of God. Sin entered into the picture and corrupted it. Man became self-serving rather than serving God and serving his fellow man. This is the basis of the world system, and of all false religion.
Today we look at a warning - not to abstain from wine - but against self-indulgence in partaking of wine. To partake in alcoholic beverage as an end to itself is sin. Those who can apply self-control with alcohol have liberty to do so. Those who have problems with self-control in this area should refrain. Christianity is not a list of do's and don'ts - it is living in a right relationship with God and serving one's fellow man. If alcoholic consumption gets in the way of either of these, it becomes self-serving. If you carefully look at the questions posed in verse 29, you will see that each symptom listed is self-inflicted. The irony of the self-serving life is that it is also self-destructive. That is the nature of sin.
Adam and Eve were seduced by the great lie, "You will be like God," (Gen. 3:5), by Satan, the father of lies (John 8:44). It is this lie that continues to pervert God's purposes and perpetuate death in the world today. Man is determined to be his own god. This is off the subject of alcohol a bit, but certainly frames the topic quite well. Recently at the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh, the satanic student organization Obsidian Enlightenment (OE), invited world-renowned Satanist Gavin Baddeley to speak at a rally. Almost 200 students attended. Baddeley's presentation "Heaven for the Climate, Hell for the Company" was intended to answer the question, "What is the attraction of evil and why is it so appealing to us?" Following the engagement there was an interview with the event organizer and OE treasurer, Nathan Wardinski. The following is a direct quote from Wardinski's interview;
"Satanism is inherently misunderstood, I think. One of the major...challenges that this brand of Satanism espouses is that Satan, or the devil, is not a physical or spiritual being. Satan is a metaphor for the belief system in Satanism. The belief is that God or religion is whatever is most important in your life, and if we are honest, the most important thing in our lives is ourselves. Satanism becomes a religion of the self. It focuses on the fulfillment of the person's ego and...desires and not being ashamed of who you are."
The lie lives on. Self-serving ways are self-destructive ways, and in the end they bring only misery and death. Jesus brings life. He says in Luke 11:23, "He who is not with me is against me." There is no neutral territory in the spirit. You cannot serve self and find life. Only those who are with Jesus can understand that life is a pleasure. Without Jesus, people continue to live in the shadow of the lie that pleasure is life. It isn't. Self-serving pleasure is no more than a fleeting vapor, there is no substance to it. Self-indulgence in alcohol or any other substance is a killer. Sooner or later it will take its toll. Life is found only in Jesus Christ.