"Whoredom and wine take away the heart" (Hosea
4:11). Heartless--this is a word frequently used to describe the
drinking man or woman. Lust and strong drink go together. Booze and
violence are Siamese twins. Seduction and assault frequently follow
drinking parties. Small children are brutalized by men who would
never think of such a thing had wine not taken away the heart! I
have seen grown people sit and sob over crimes and sin they had
committed under the influence of drink. These people normally would
have had a heart for a person they had wronged. But "they drink
wine...therefore now they shall go captive." (Amos 6:6, 7).
Oh, the broken hearts, the exploded dreams, the disillusionment of
those who find that all their plans have been dissolved in the wine
cup! "The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore
cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on out armour of
light. Let us walk honestly, as in the day; not in wantonness, not
in strife and envying" (Romans 13:12, 13).
"But now I have written unto you not to keep company, if any man
that is called a brother be a fornicator, or covetous, or an
idolater, or a railer, or a drunkard, or an extortioner; with
such an one no not to eat." (1st Corinthians 5:11). Thus we're not
to keep company with the drunkard! The loneliness, separation and
disappointment that floods many hearts is brought about because of
drink.
