Use only with extreme caution

Good morning, everyone,

Our theme for this month: “Live long, live well”

Our Bible verse for today: “He causes grass to grow for the livestock and provides crops for man to cultivate, producing food from the earth, wine that makes human hearts glad – making his face shine with oil – and bread that sustains human hearts.” Psalm 104:15 (CSB)

Our thought for today: “Use only with extreme caution”

This morning I’m going to address a subject that is controversial and for which many people have strong opinions on both sides of the issue. It’s the subject of Christians consuming alcohol as a beverage. The only reason I am bringing this up is because it is one of the factors for longevity that Dan Buettner and his team discovered among those in the geographic Blue Zones who tend to live long lives. Among the Blue Zone populations in his study, consuming alcohol as a beverage is customary in those cultures, and many of the people in the study who have lived long have consumed a glass or two daily for most of their lives.

My reason for addressing it this morning is simply because I said I would faithfully report the results of the Blue Zone discoveries. As Christians, we should not turn a blind eye to facts we are uncomfortable with. Instead, we should be able to critically evaluate the facts in-light-of Scripture, without trying to make the Bible say more or less than it does on the subject. We are not to add to or take away from God’s Word on any subject.

In Biblical times wine was a common beverage consumed by God’s people. It was one of the few beverages which could consistently be trusted as safe to consume. Milk and water were often contaminated or spoiled. Wine, which was fermented, was almost always safe to consume in small quantities.

There are many verses and passages in both the Old and New Testaments which address this subject. Psalm 104:15 (above) lists wine, along with other blessings, which are provided by God for His people to enjoy. In John 2:1-10 we find that Jesus turned water into wine at a wedding celebration. And not only did He miraculously provide the wine, but in the words of the master of ceremonies, it was the best wine, the good stuff. (If we are faithful to the context of the passage, we must acknowledge that the wine Jesus created was indeed a potentially intoxicating beverage). In 1 Timothy 5:23 the Apostle Paul urged his young protégé Timothy to use a little wine for medicinal purposes.

However, there are even more passages in both the Old and New Testaments that warn against the sin of drunkenness. While there may be many examples in the Bible of God’s people consuming alcoholic beverages in moderation, the Bible makes it clear that drinking to excess is a sin. Drunkenness is condemned.

Please understand me, this devotional is not intended to be an argument for or against consuming an alcoholic beverage as a beverage. It is intended to make two points: First, we must let the Bible speak for itself and do not try to make it say more, or less, than it does on this or on any subject. We must be careful that we are not reading our own biases into it. And second, I am simply reporting a fact that Dan Buettner and his team discovered in their research.

Tommorow I will share more of that with you and then we will learn that if you are going to use alcohol at all, you must do so with extreme caution.

God bless,
Pastor Jim

(If you like what you are reading in these daily devotionals and if you would like more content from Oak Hill Baptist Church, join us on Sundays at 10:00 – in-person if you are nearby or, if you are geographically distant or if you just can’t make it, online at www.YouTube.com/@oakhillbaptistcrossville

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