Verses 6 and 7

I'm going to combine verses 6 and 7 this time, because they complete the passage on alcohol and I don't want to keep talking about this forever! Anyway, here is what Proverbs 31:6-7 says, "Give beer to those who are perishing, wine to those who are in anguish; let them drink and forget their poverty and remember their misery no more." (NIV)

At first glance I would have to say that maybe I should open that bottle of beer I'm keeping for the slugs in the garden. We found an unopened bottle of Budweiser at a local campground. I wonder if anyone missed it. The slugs get bad in July and August and they're supposed to be drawn to beer, so if you put a shallow dish filled with beer in your garden, the slugs are to drown in it. We'll see.

The reason I'm joking about drinking the Bud is because the above verse says to give it to the poor so they can forget their misery. I don't have a lot of money, but I don't really think that's what the verse is talking about. I think it's speaking more about the spiritually bereft person. You know, the kind who seems to have it all together but inside is a real mess.

When people have no REAL relationship with the Lord, they're empty and useless. Let them drink and wallow in their self-pity; let them get drunk and blitz out their brains with beer and wine enough that they forget (temporarily of course) their problems.

People of God have a higher calling than that. They know the Lord intimately and have no need of alcohol or drugs (or anything else that numbs the mind/body/spirit) to get them feeling good. They're JOYFUL and God is enough to fill their every need.

You'll probably have to wait on the next post. I've decided to take a break from the internet for a few days. The next couple of verses of Proverbs 31 are rich and I can't wait to post my thoughts on them.