Friday, February 22, 2013
In Case You've Been Bitten
"My
childhood was miserable. I lived in
constant terror because my dad would come home drunk and beat me and my mom -
often he would sexually abuse me and then not even remember what happened." The story is all too familiar. It is a problem of epidemic proportion
throughout the world. Yet there are no
truth in advertising regulations requiring that the symptoms of intoxication be
listed on the label. Rather multi-billion
dollar corporations, who produce the poison, scrub their image by sponsoring
super bowl ads, building stadiums and theme parks, and courting lawmakers so
they can distract us from noticing that their products contribute to more
violence and death each year than do all of the mass murderers in America's history
put together.
Several years ago the World Health Organization issued this
warning: "Alcohol
causes nearly 4 percent of deaths worldwide, more than AIDS, tuberculosis or
violence... The harmful use of alcohol is a global problem which compromises
both individual and social development. It results in 2.5 million deaths each
year. Alcohol is the world’s third largest risk factor for premature mortality,
disability and loss of health; it is the leading risk factor in the Western
Pacific and the Americas and the second largest in Europe. Alcohol is
associated with many serious social and developmental issues, including
violence, child neglect and abuse, and absenteeism in the workplace. It also
causes harm far beyond the physical and psychological health of the drinker. It
harms the well-being and health of people around the drinker. An intoxicated
person can harm others or put them at risk of traffic accidents or violent
behaviour, or negatively affect co-workers, relatives, friends or strangers.
Thus, the impact of the harmful use of alcohol reaches deep into society."
(2011 Global Status Report on Alcohol and Health)
This
is how the Bible describes people who are bound by alcohol. "Who has anguish? Who has sorrow? Who is
always fighting? Who is always complaining? Who has unnecessary bruises? Who
has bloodshot eyes? It is the one who
spends long hours in the taverns, trying out new drinks. Don’t gaze at the wine, seeing how red it is,
how it sparkles in the cup, how smoothly it goes down. For in
the end it bites like a poisonous snake; it stings like a viper. You will see hallucinations, and you will say
crazy things. You will stagger like a
sailor tossed at sea, clinging to a swaying mast. And you will say, 'They hit me, but I didn’t
feel it. I didn’t even know it when they beat me up. When will I wake up so I
can look for another drink?' ” (Proverbs 23:29-35 NLT)
WHO is a secular organization that warns of
the incredible social and financial devastation that results from alcohol
usage. Ministers, health care workers
and social workers see the emotional, social and spiritual fallout from alcohol
abuse on a daily basis. As a nation we
have attempted to tame this snake through prohibition. The truth is that people will continue to get
bitten by this viper until they are personally freed from its hold. You may have been bitten by dependency on
alcohol or by the abuse perpetrated by someone under the influence. Either way, there are solutions. Millions of people have learned how to let God
set them free. At first this viper seems
impossible to overcome, but there are many people who have been there and done
that who are happy to help others find a path to recovery or healing. Stop the hurting. Learn to avoid the snake bite. Call someone
today.
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