This Proverb says, “Listen my son and be wise, and direct your heart in the way. Do not be with heavy drinkers of wine, or with gluttonous eaters of meat; for the heavy drinkers and the gluttonous will come to poverty, and drowsiness will clothe a man with rags.”
Heavy drinking is bad because it destroys motivation and clouds a person’s judgment. A heavy drinker is not motivated to work or to succeed in life. A heavy drinker is satisfied with drunkenness and sloppiness . They will eventually live in filth. They will indeed become impoverished and ultimately homeless.
The Bible does not condemn or forbid drinking a little wine. Jesus drank wine with His disciples. He even turned water into wine on one occasion. Paul advised his student, Timothy, to take a little wine for his stomach ailments. So drinking is not bad. However, excessive or heavy drinking is.
The Bible says, “Do not be drunk with wine. Rather be filled with the Holy Spirit.” If we drink excessively, the Holy Spirit will not guide us. We will lose our perspective and be unable to make good decisions. We may choose a path that leads us away from God.
A person needs to have self-control to do what is right in this world. One of the fruits of the Holy Spirit is self-control. When we believe in Jesus, we will have the Holy Spirit to help and guide us. When the Holy Spirit guides us we will have self-control. Then, we will be able to control our drinking.
