International Bible Teaching Ministries
The Deception of Strong Drink
“Wine is a mocker, strong drink is raging: and whosoever is deceived thereby is not wise” (Proverbs 20:1). This verse teaches us that strong drink deceives men. Alcohol is a mind altering drug. Drugs are not for recreational use. There is a proper use in God’s Word for strong drink; that use is for medicine.
The liquor industry runs ads on T.V. telling people such things as,
“Know when to say when;”
“don’t drink and drive,” and
“drink responsibly.”
How can those under the influence of a mind altering drug and whose judgment is impaired then be called upon to use good judgment? Alcohol makes a fool out of any man who is so foolish as to drink it, and most of the time he doesn’t even remember what he did and what he said. In Genesis 19:32-33, Lot had sexual relations with not one, but two of his daughters and did not even remember the next day what he had done. Proverbs 23 says that wine causes men to seek strange women. Whoredom and wine seem to go together in the Old Testament. Most drunken men see themselves as Hollywood’s leading men. In reality they many times smell of vomit and urine and are unkept and unbalanced and can hardly be understood because of their blurry speech.
Isaiah28:7 gives great insight on wine and its deception. “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.” Proverbs 23 also says they utter perverse things. Yes, they do when you can understand them. Police conduct sobriety tests with drunks when they are stopped driving on our highways and when they are drunk, grown men can’t even say their ABC’s.
Proverbs 23 also tells us the drinker has wounds that he does not remember incurring. How sad these drunken fools don’t remember who they fought with last night and why or whose wife they slept with last night!
Wine gives a false sense of being invincible. Most drunks think they can run faster than anyone and that they are so strong that they can whip five men at once. They feel they have super human abilities. However, in reality they are so impaired they can’t walk, talk and think like normal people do. Most of them feel superior to others in every way. Their physical senses are impaired and their moral compass is not working. In Proverbs 23:29 the question was asked, “Who hath woe? Who hath sorrow? Who hath contentions? Who hath babbling? Who hath wounds without cause? Who hath redness of eyes?” Then the answer comes in verse 30: “They that tarry long at the wine.” How can so many be made such fools? They are deceived by strong drink. Proverbs 20:1 says they are unwise or, in other words, they are fools. Alcohol will make a fool out of a man in short time. Don’t be a fool! “Look not thou upon the wine when it is red....”
How sad so many today after being deceived time and time again by wine, will “seek it yet again.” “Wine is a mocker, strong drink is raging: and whosoever is deceived thereby is not wise”(Proverbs 20:1).