I want to address drinking and drug addiction in our society and how it affects so much of our society today. I grew up in a house that was this typical situation back in the 1970’s. My mom and dad were alcoholics, my brother and sisters were into the drug scene and I was the youngest one watching all of the drama unfold. Because of the alcohol abuse by mom and dad they would have these big blow out physical fights and of course us kids would get scared and my brother and sisters would try and protect mom which would of course, cause dad to turn his abuse onto the kids. Well, my brother and sisters would tell me to run and go hide. I would hear everybody screaming and yelling and be scared to death myself. When I got older my brother and sisters really got into the drug scene and they started dealing drugs, of course they were also using the same drugs that they dealt

Now needless to say, this is where the addiction comes in. Both my brother and my sister were addicted to the drug (Meth), and as everybody knows, this drug is extremely addictive and destructive. I watched both my brother and sister lose everything that they worked for their entire lives. My brother led a life of crime which turned out to land him in prison a few times and my sister has completely lost everything in her life, including isolating herself from her family due to the addiction over the drug.

The Word of God (The Holy Bible) clearly teaches us a lot about dealing with addiction and I would like to address it. In Proverbs 20:1 it says whoever is led astray by drinking is not wise. We all know the devastating effects of drinking and drug abuse. And we all know that it does have the effect of altering our decision making. We know that it is not a wise thing to do, but what we are typically doing is trying to escape our immediate situation, at least for a short time. In Proverbs 23 it says that your eyes will see strange things and your heart will utter perverse things. What this means is that your perception of reality has been altered and what you see is not necessarily the truth, and then what comes out of your own mouth is not right, you say things that are not true, because your perception of reality is altered, this totally effects all of our emotions and let’s face it, life is hard enough, without causing ourselves more problems. But this is where the addiction comes in, it also says “When shall I awake, that I may seek another drink?” Just like the drug addict that has to get their next fix. Different addictions, but the same mentality. They have to get back to trying to cover up their misery. In Proverbs 31 it says to give strong drink to him who is perishing, and wine to those who are bitter of heart. Let him drink and forget his poverty, and remember his misery no more. In this portion of Scripture you see the reasons that people drink and do drugs. They are perishing, this means that they feel like they are dying in their souls. They are bitter of heart, this means that they have some kind of issue in their heart that eats away at them all of the time. They drink or do drugs to forget their poverty, this either means, literally their poverty here on this earth as in they are poor, or it means, something that they are lacking in their very soul, something that they are in need of. The last reason that they drink or do drugs is because of their misery and they want to forget it. They have some kind of misery in their soul that plagues them. This can be all sorts of issues that just have never been resolved and continue to act as a heavy weight in their soul, such as depression, abuse (physical/or mental), lack of love in their lives (not receiving it or knowing how to love others), violence (either towards them or towards others), there are so many different kinds of miseries that we go through as people on this planet and every single one of them can be traced back to sin. Sin is when we miss the mark, that is, we do not do what is right. Either by committing some kind of evil or not stepping in when we see evil happening. We can sin either way.

Now let’s address how to beat addiction. Now in James 1:5 it says “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him. (James 1:5 NKJV). What this verse is saying is that if we are going to get a foothold on conquering our addiction, we need to pray to God for wisdom, for it tells us that whoever is led astray by these addictions is not wise. In our society we see a lot of very intelligent people make really stupid decisions and we think that these people are smart. Well, to your surprise I will agree with you. But just because someone is smart, this does not mean that they are wise. My own father was one of the smartest guys I have ever met, but he was not wise when he was led astray by drinking and this caused all sorts of issues in his life and his sin effected a whole lot of people. This is the difference between intelligence and wisdom, you can know what to do and not do it, but having wisdom, you will apply the knowledge into your life and watch God bless you for it. In Proverbs 23 it says to buy the truth and do not sell it, also wisdom and instruction and understanding. We lack a lot of things in our lives and all of them are addressed in the Bible. We need to ask God to give us each and every one of these things, wisdom, instruction, understanding, to show us the truth and impress it into our hearts so that we walk in the truth and not in the lie, that has kept us in bondage for so many years, just destroying our lives. I would like to invite you at this point to check out the wisdom and understanding studies in this website to further your progress in beating these addictions. I tell people to find a promise of God in Scripture and to stand on it, if God said it, then it is true!!!! But always remember that God always gives two or three other Scriptures to back up what He says, this is how you interpret Scripture. If you cannot find a lot of other Scriptures on a subject, then I tell people, that I believe that God did not think that we needed to know much about that subject. I hope that this study has helped you in some way and I know that if you pray to God for wisdom and do not doubt that He will give it to you, then stand back and get ready to receive it. May God Bless You and have a blessed day!!!!

Proverbs 20:1

Wine is a mocker, Strong drink is a brawler, And whoever is led astray by it is not wise.

Proverbs 23:23-35

Buy the truth, and do not sell it, Also wisdom and instruction and understanding. The father of the righteous will greatly rejoice, And he who begets a wise child will delight in him. Let your father and your mother be glad, And let her who bore you rejoice. My son, give me your heart, And let your eyes observe my ways. For a harlot is a deep pit, And a seductress is a narrow well. She also lies in wait as for a victim, And increases the unfaithful among men. Who has woe? Who has sorrow? Who has contentions? Who has complaints? Who has wounds without cause? Who has redness of eyes? Those who linger long at the wine, Those who go in search of mixed wine. Do not look on the wine when it is red, When it sparkles in the cup, When it swirls around smoothly; At the last it bites like a serpent, And stings like a viper. Your eyes will see strange things, And your heart will utter perverse things. Yes, you will be like one who lies down in the midst of the sea, Or like one who lies at the top of the mast, saying: “They have struck me, but I was not hurt; They have beaten me, but I did not feel it. When shall I awake, that I may seek another drink?”

Proverbs 31:4-7

It is not for kings, O Lemuel, It is not for kings to drink wine, Nor for princes intoxicating drink; Lest they drink and forget the law, And pervert the justice of all the afflicted. Give strong drink to him who is perishing, And wine to those who are bitter of heart. Let him drink and forget his poverty, And remember his misery no more.

Isaiah 5:20-23

Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; Who put darkness for light, and light for darkness; Who put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter! Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes, And prudent in their own sight! Woe to men mighty at drinking wine, Woe to men valiant for mixing intoxicating drink, Who justify the wicked for a bribe, And take away justice from the righteous man!