Thirty Sterling Principles, Part 9

Who are the people who are always crying the blues?
    Who do you know who reeks of self-pity?
Who keeps getting beat up for no reason at all?
    Whose eyes are bleary and bloodshot?
It’s those who spend the night with a bottle,
    for whom drinking is serious business.
Don’t judge wine by its label,
    or its bouquet, or its full-bodied flavor.
Judge it rather by the hangover it leaves you with—
    the splitting headache, the queasy stomach.
Do you really prefer seeing double,
    with your speech all slurred,
Reeling and seasick,
    drunk as a sailor?
“They hit me,” you’ll say, “but it didn’t hurt;
    they beat on me, but I didn’t feel a thing.
When I’m sober enough to manage it,
    bring me another drink!” Proverbs 23:29-35, Principle 19

This principle spoke to me due to my struggles with alcohol. I especially like the reminders of what it’s like to be under the influence of alcohol. When I was drinking I was “always crying the blues” and reeked “of self-pity.” My eyes were bleary and bloodshot as was my mind. This passage reminds me that the result of a day of heavy drinking is a hangover, a splitting headache and a queasy stomach.

It’s been several 24 hours since I took my last drink and it’s easy to forget the effects alcohol had on my life. This passage brings all the distress and trouble back to the forefront and I’m reminded why I do not choose to drink. For me it was not a matter of having one drink and enjoying the taste. One drink always led to getting drunk. Scripture clearly says we should not get drunk with wine for that is a waste of time and energy (Ephesians 5:18). This passage gives a bunch of other good reasons for not getting drunk.

I remember seeing double and having my speech slurred. I remember reeling and being seasick. I remember waking up with bruises and having no idea where they came from. I remember when all I could think about was my next drink. After 15 years of sobriety, I need the reminders this passage of Scripture brings me because I have a built-in forgetter that makes remembering the effects and problems alcohol brought to me difficult on my own.

I’m always amazed at Scripture and how it addresses each of my needs. This is one passage that I can turn to when I start to think that a drink sounds good (which still happens from time to time). I don’t have to try and remember what drinking (and getting drunk) was like. It’s laid out for me in clear terms. Life was miserable when I was drinking. Life still has its struggles, but at least I don’t have to deal with the effects of being drunk on top of everything.