By Shenalyn Page
Did you know that more than 37 people die in the United States every day from drunk-driving accidents? That’s one person needlessly dead every 39 minutes!
If you’ve taken driver’s education, you already know just how dangerous it is to drive under the influence of alcohol. Even a little bit of booze increases your risk of an accident. One study found that a blood alcohol level of just 0.05—that’s just two drinks in an hour—is enough to make you 38 percent more likely to crash.
Alcohol doesn’t only kill through traffic accidents. It also kills via murders, overdoses, suicides, illnesses, and accidents. Over 4,000 people under the age of 21 die each year in the United States because of alcohol and its consequences.
Maybe you know someone who has died in an alcohol-related car crash, or perhaps someone you love struggles with an alcohol-related illness (there are many). Or perhaps you’ve been badly abused by an alcoholic parent. If so, you know the pain that it can cause, and you’re likely in complete agreement with what King Solomon said about strong drink:
“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” (Proverbs 23:29, 30).
Is a Little Alcohol Really That Bad?
Yes—it is!
Recent studies are showing that consuming even a little alcohol causes long-term health damage. Every time you drink, your body metabolizes the alcohol into acetaldehyde, a chemical that damages DNA and prevents your body from repairing the damage. It also causes oxidative stress. Over time, even moderate alcohol consumption can lead to cancer, heart disease, mental health problems, and more.
When you drink, you significantly increase your chance of having trouble in school or problems with your friends and family. Your risk of being assaulted, having unwanted pregnancies, getting a sexually transmitted disease, committing suicide, and having legal troubles all goes up. Drinking alcohol also increases the chance that you will become addicted to it and other drugs. The younger you are when you start drinking, the worse the effects will be in your life.
Beer on the Brain
There are alsomany ways alcohol impacts your brain. It impairs your ability to think clearly, lowers your inhibitions, hampers your ability to control your emotions, and slows your reflexes. It has its most significant effects on your frontal lobe—the part of your brain where you think about right and wrong, feel empathy for others, make logical choices, plan for the future, control your impulses, and communicate with God.
Drinking alcohol is essentially like taking away the pole from an Olympic vaulter and expecting them to win the gold. Your brain—especially the part that is vital for your relationship with God—simply cannot function at optimal levels when you drink a beer.
That’s why the Bible is clear: “Wine is a mocker, strong drink is a brawler, and whoever is led astray by it is not wise” (Proverbs 20:1).
Are You Lit? or On Fire?
So, why do people drink if both the science and the Bible say it’s bad for you? To be honest, it’s because of the way that alcohol makes you feel. Getting a little tipsy makes you feel relaxed, happy, and confident. Plus, it numbs any emotional or physical pain you may be feeling so that you can ignore your real problems.
“Doesn’t everyone deserve a little break now and then?”
Don’t be fooled! That’s the devil’s argument. He’s the one who wants you to “get lit.”
Jesus offers us a way better solution: the Holy Spirit. If you are willing to let the Holy Spirit live in you, you will discover that the peace and joy He brings far outweighs any temporary reprieve alcohol might provide. And the results of being controlled by the Holy Spirit are way better than the results of being controlled by alcohol. “The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law” (Galatians 5:22, 23).
After Jesus returned to heaven, the disciples spent ten days praying for the Holy Spirit. Then the Holy Spirit came like “fire” on each one of them (Acts 2:3, 4), and they were so transformed that the people in the city thought they were drunk (Acts 2:13).
Did you catch that? Being filled with the Holy Spirit is the ultimate experience of transformation and healing that God intends for each of us; it is an experience that the buzz of alcohol can’t even hint at.
“Do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit” (Ephesians 5:18).
It’s time to put away the booze and let the Holy Spirit light you on fire for Jesus instead!
Have more questions about what the Bible says about alcohol? Find all your answers in this free book from Amazing Facts: The Christian and Alcohol