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Alcohol


         Stop drinking only water, and use a little wine because of your stomach and your frequent illnesses. (I Timothy 5:23)

          Did you know that the Temperance Movement began as a women’s issue? Men weren’t the only drunks, of course, but men stopped on their way home from work and drank a good portion of their pay, meaning that women and children suffered. Even today people in Boston spend an average of $900 on beer, and people in New York City, an average of $1,300.[1] That might not be so bad if you’re making more than $40,000. It’s harder if you make less. And keep in mind that that’s the average. That means those who do drink actually tend to spend more, but they’re buying and drinking someone else’s alcohol as well.
         Add to that the fact that some 40% of all criminals claim to have been under the influence of alcohol when they committed their crimes. Forty percent of those who abuse wives, forty percent of those who abuse children, forty percent of those who rape, or murder. Some 88,000 people per year die at the hands of someone who has been drinking.
          The Bible is not anti-alcohol, but it’s definitely against the abuse of alcohol, so when people pull today's passage or one of the others that mention drinking out of context as proof that drinking is Scripturally acceptable, or when people pull passages out of context to prove that all alcohol is Scripturally unacceptable, they’re barking up the wrong tree.
          Historically, water available in or near cities was contaminated. Apparently, Timothy had chosen to forego alcohol and was suffering as a result. Wine was a preferred beverage because it helped prevent some of these diseases. Paul also warned Timothy against elders who were given to much drink.
         The key is not in moderation. It is in love. If alcohol gets in the way of your love (care) for yourself, it needs to be kicked to the curb. If it takes money from your family that your family could better use elsewhere, it needs to be thrown off a cliff. If it interferes with your service to God, throw it in the trash.

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