November 23

Nov 23 - Today from Proverbs 23 we look at verse 33
"Your eyes will see strange sights and your mind imagine confusing things."

What compels people to get drunk on alcohol or to get high on 'recreational' drugs?
In verses 29-35 the Teacher writes a short discourse on drunkenness. Today's verse describes the effect that overindulging alcohol has on the mind. In reading the verse, it would not seem that anyone would desire such a state of mind - yet it is the very effect described which attracts people to partake.
Let's examine the two effects. Strange sights. In the original Hebrew, the word strange literally means to turn aside. It was most often associated with foreigners who were required to turn aside at an inn for the evening. They were far from home, and were strangers in the place where they were traveling. Confusing things. A better translation would read perverse things (i.e. KJV). In the original Hebrew this word was derived from a root word meaning turn about or contrary. To be perverse is to be directed away from what is right. Self does not desire to be confused, but self certainly enjoys being turned away from right living according to God's original purposes. Thus we see the initial effects of alcohol and drug abuse are very appealing to self - the fallen nature of man. It is a source of escape from the real world in which one lives, they become travelers in a fantasy world. It is a stimulant to embolden them to fully live in a self-indulging setting - even if it is only for a time. People who are unhappy with the realities of life in a world of responsibilities that require self discipline readily turn to a substance which will allow them to escape. To take refuge in a surreal realm where self becomes all important and all consuming - the world of substance abuse.
I knew that world - intimately. At the tender age of 19, I was taken from the life I knew and was catapulted into the military. After a few months of 'canned training', I found myself serving a tour of duty in Viet Nam as an infantryman. I didn't volunteer to be there, and I certainly didn't want to be there. A professional soldier I was not. I looked for opportunities to 'escape' the reality of the world in which I found myself, and there happened to be an abundance of marijuana around. I discovered the world of drugs. I never smoked pot in combat conditions and I never graduated to what is known as 'hard drugs'. I simply found an escape from the realities of war when the times warranted by inhaling the pungent smoke of 'weed'. I made it through the tour and returned to the States. Six months stateside and I was out. When I got home, I discovered that there was a readily available supply of marijuana right here in west Michigan. I resumed my use, now in much more pleasant conditions. I will never tell kids that there is no pleasure in doing drugs. That would be stupid - it's the reason people do drugs. The issue with drugs - including alcohol and pot - is that it perverts life. We are to be agents of life in a fallen and needy world. Substance abuse moves us to a realm of surrealism where we not only avoid life, we become users of life. Self-serving people use up emotional resources, time resources, relational resources and material resources. Substance abuse is the epitome of self-indulgence.
After I got married and had two sons, I limited my indulgences to very controlled circumstances - but that did not diminish the consuming effects. It was only when I came to know Jesus Christ as my personal Lord and Savior did I realize what a waste of time and resources such activity was. I never touched pot again. I would be lying to you if I told you I never consumed alcohol again. I enjoy an occasional glass of fine wine with a meal, or a cold beer with a burger. But I do not get drunk. I keep my intake very limited. I want to maintain self-control of my faculties. If I am in the company of people who take offense at consumption of alcohol, I can easily refrain - it is not my master.
It is no longer my desire to see strange sights or to encourage myself in perversity. I now know the Lord Jesus, and live in the reality of His truth. He has restored me to the heavenly Father and has given me the privilege and duty to serve my fellow man. He has given me His Holy Spirit to strengthen me and to guide me. He has given my life value and purpose, and will one day come to take me home to be with Him forever. I no longer feel the need to escape this life. I now want to live it - for Him.