The Bible on Alcohol

Proverbs 20:1
Wine is a mocker, strong drink is raging: and whosoever is deceived thereby is not wise.

Proverbs 21:17
He that loveth pleasure shall be a poor man: he that loveth wine and oil shall not be rich.

Proverbs 23:21
For the drunkard and the glutton shall come to poverty: and drowsiness shall clothe a man with rags.

Proverbs 23:29 – 35
Who hath woe? who hath sorrow? who hath contentions? who hath babbling? who hath wounds without cause? who hath redness of eyes? They that tarry long at the wine; they that go to seek mixed wine. Look not thou upon the wine when it is red, when it giveth his colour in the cup, when it moveth itself aright. At the last it biteth like a serpent, and stingeth like an adder. Thine eyes shall behold strange women, and thine heart shall utter perverse things. Yea, thou shalt be as he that lieth down in the midst of the sea, or as he that lieth upon the top of a mast. They have stricken me, shalt thou say, and I was not sick; they have beaten me, and I felt it not: when shall I awake? I will seek it yet again.

Proverbs 31:4 – 5
It is not for kings, O Lemuel, it is not for kings to drink wine; nor for princes strong drink: Lest they drink, and forget the law, and pervert the judgment of any of the afflicted.

Isaiah 5:11
Woe unto them that rise up early in the morning, that they may follow strong drink; that continue until night, till wine inflame them!

Isaiah 28:7
But they also have erred through wine, and through strong drink are out of the way; the priest and the prophet have erred through strong drink, they are swallowed up of wine, they are out of the way through strong drink; they err in vision, they stumble [in] judgment.

Mark 15:23
And they gave him [Jesus] to drink wine mingled with myrrh: but he received it not.

Luke 1:15
For he [John the Baptist] shall be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink; and he shall be filled with the Holy Ghost, even from his mother's womb.

Romans 14:21
It is good neither to eat flesh, nor to drink wine, nor any thing whereby thy brother stumbleth, or is offended, or is made weak.

1 Corinthians 5:11
But now I have written unto you not to keep company, if any man that is called a brother be a fornicator, or covetous, or an idolater, or a railer, or a drunkard, or an extortioner; with such an one no not to eat. For what have I to do to judge them also that are without? do not ye judge them that are within? But them that are without God judgeth. Therefore put away from among yourselves that wicked person.

1 Corinthians 6:9 – 10
Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God.

Ephesians 5:18 – 21
And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit; Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord; Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ; Submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of God.

1 Peter 4:3 – 5
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: Wherein they think it strange that ye run not with them to the same excess of riot, speaking evil of you: Who shall give account to him that is ready to judge the quick and the dead.

Authority and the Appeal

I used to work in an environment where I was being told what to do by four people: the CEO, the President, the CFO and the Director. Each thought his project was the most important. I was placed in a position where serving not two, but four masters was a daily occurrence. It added a great deal of stress to my position.

I finally went to the CFO, who was supposed to be my immediate supervisor, and requested that arrangements be made where I could answer to one person. All tasks would flow through my immediate supervisor. The result was a great deal of freedom and a decrease in stress.

My immediate supervisor provided a level of protection from the inquisitions and demands of others. He knew what I was working on and had the opportunity to set my priorities.

Even in the best of circumstances, conflicts in priorities will arise. Authority provides the solution. A quick trip to the bosses office to ask, “Boss, I realize all of these tasks are important, but which would you like me to accomplish first?” This places the responsibility on his shoulders. If the President comes knocking on your door to ask why you have not finished his pet project, you point your finger to your bosses office and say, “Sir, my boss indicated that this task should be done first, and I have devoted my energies in that direction.”

If the President then directs you differently, say “Yes, sir” and then make sure you immediately explain to your supervisor that the President of the company changed your priorities.

Your boss has two choices at that point: (1) to accept the President’s new direction, or (2) go to the President himself and appeal. Meanwhile, you’re working on the President’s project.

Why?

It all has to do with God’s design for authority in our lives. Now I didn’t come up with the concept, but rather am affirming that I have found it to be true and very beneficial to those that follow God’s design.

One of the most difficult things in life is to maintain a balance in all things. A situation occurred once when working on a film project where the producer of the show handed me several hundred dollars, asked me to run by the grocery store and pick up several cases of beer for the wrap party and began naming off several various brands and labels. I was on the clock.

(The purpose of this example is not to argue for or against alcohol but to illustrate a principle of authority.) Personally, I have a strong conviction against drinking alcoholic beverages of any kind. Immediately, I knew that I could not complete this assignment and maintain a clear conscience. What did I do? I appealed to the producer. “Sir, I understand your intention for asking me to do this. Your desire is to provide enjoyable refreshment for the crew after a long days work. Personally, I have a strong conviction against consuming alcohol and would not be able to purchase this for others.”

He pulled me aside. “Now, Dan, I know why you say that, but I’m not asking you to drink any, just buy it.” He paused. “What are you going to do if your on the set of a big movie and some big-time producer asks you to do this? If you say no, he might fire you no the spot.”

I’m sure he was relating his own feelings at that moment. He awaited my response. “Sir,” I said, “if you need to fire me right now, I understand, but I could not violate my own convictions.”

He looked at the floor. I can remember it as vividly now as if it were happening. Several seconds went by which seemed like minutes. Finally he looked up. “If you feel that strongly about it, I’ll get someone else to do it. Some people don’t even have convictions.” He turned and walked away.

The moral of the story…there’s always perfect balance to God’s design. When an authority asks you to do something contrary to God given convictions, God has provided for the appeal process.