Proverbs 23:29-35
“Who has woe? Who has sorrow? Who has contentions? Who has complaining? Who has wounds without cause? Who has redness of eyes? Those who linger long over wine, those who go to taste mixed wine. Do not look on the wine when it is red, when it sparkles in the cup, when it goes down smoothly; at the last it bites like a serpent and stings like a viper. Your eyes will see strange things and your mind will utter perverse things. And you will be like one who lies down in the middle of the sea, or like one who lies down on the top of a mast. ‘They struck me, but I did not become ill; they beat me, but I did not know it. When shall I awake? I will seek another drink.’”
Q: What does the last line of this proverb say about alcohol and pot addiction?
It makes you unaware of what is truly going on around you and leaves you susceptible to more addiction or harm.
Proverbs 20:1
“Wine is a mocker, strong drink a brawler, and whoever is intoxicated by it is not wise.”
Q: How does a “strong drink” inhibit your freedom? How does this relate to marijuana use?
Both alcohol and marijuana take away your ability to be wise and discerning. They leave you in danger of giving into temptation and inhibit your freedom because you are no longer in control.
In biblical times, “strong drink” (sikera in the original Greek of the New Testament) referred to any unmixed or undiluted wine. When Jesus turned water into wine in John 2, He didn’t make sikera; He made oinos, weak wine diluted with water. When Paul told Timothy in 1 Timothy 5:23 that he should drink wine, he told him to do it for medicinal purposes (for a stomach problem). Again, it was oinos, not sikera.
Psalms 15:1 & 2
“O Lord, who may abide in Your tent? Who may dwell on Your holy hill? He who walks with integrity, and works righteousness, and speaks truth in his heart.”
Q: Regarding the law, obedience to parents and being a witness to your friends, what does “walking in integrity” say about using alcohol and drugs or porn?
Integrity = “doing the right thing when no one is looking.” In every situation, walk with integrity even when away from law enforcement, your parents or friends.
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Matthew 5:16 – “Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.”
Q: Describe the encouragement and exhortation this verse brings to you about addictive substances.
By not taking part in the negative things that others are doing, other will see our light and want to know the source of that light!
Matthew 18:6 – “…but whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to stumble, it would be better for him to have a heavy millstone hung around his neck, and to be drowned in the depth of the sea.”
Q: What light does this verse shed on the practice of casual drinking or smoking pot? Describe a scenario that you might be faced with where this verse becomes a practical reality.
These practices hurt us and hurt others. If a friend knows that I am a Christian but sees me drinking or smoking pot (even casually), they might either think it is okay or that I am a hypocrite.
Paul
John 8:34 – “Jesus answered them, ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who commits sin is the slave of sin.’”
Q: Why are alcohol and pot so addictive, and what harm have you observed from them?
These substances are used to “numb” your pain and give you a certain feeling, but it is only temporary. You become addicted to the way they make you feel, and then they have control of you and create a barrier between you and God.
Peter
1 Peter 2:12 – “Keep your behavior excellent among the Gentiles, so that in the thing in which they slander you as evildoers, they may because of your good deeds, as they observe them, glorify God in the day of visitation.”
Q: How does an alcohol and drug-free life become a witness to your friends?
Your friends know you are different and do not rely on external, worldly substances to fulfill you.
APPLICATION: How do these passages relate to me today? What changes do they bring to my life?
LOCKER ROOM: Is there anything this week that you have been enslaved to, and how we can help you?
