TOTALLY UNDER CONTROL -- Devotional for April 20, from "Good Seeds"

Do not be drunk with wine, for that will ruin your life. Instead be filled with and controlled by the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 5:18). No longer should you drink water exclusively, but use a little wine for the sake of your stomach and your frequent ailments. (I Timothy 5:23)

The dictionary defines teetotalism as “complete abstinence from alcoholic drinks.” The first part of the word, “tee” = the letter “t,” is the initial of the second part of the word, total. Does the Bible tell us to be teetotalers? Well, in Paul’s personal letter to his young pastor friend, Timothy, he told him very specifically to drink wine. That’s true, but that’s not the entire truth of what he said, or meant. He wasn’t telling Timothy that it’s okay to freely indulge in alcohol as a recreational beverage. He knew well the danger of addiction, which can come through the taste and “zing” promised by alcohol. There’s nothing wrong with good taste, or even a body thrill – just compare hot chili peppers: they pack a punch and add spicy nutrition. Something can be both good AND good for you! But beware turning the control of your body over to the thing that will not feed you, just feed on you, the thing that heads straight to your lusts, bypassing your will. Imagine giving carte blanche to someone to do with you what he will. You might so totally trust a good friend that you would do almost anything he asked, with full confidence that it would do you no harm, only good. Could you say that about a stranger or some shady fellow, or about that one whose very name embodies evil? (Why else is it called “that old devil rum”?) Despite those who rejoiced at the repeal of prohibition, or those who laugh in scorn at anyone who associates beer, wine and whiskey with the devil of hell, it is undeniably true that alcohol is one of Satan’s most effective instruments for ruining lives. When Paul encouraged Timothy to drink wine, it was to be just a little, for his health. Doctors today recommend the same thing: a few sips of the fruit of the vine for calming the stomach, or as an aid to arterial health. And as “a spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down,” a drug doesn’t have to taste bad to do you good. (Who could honestly say he likes the taste of cod liver oil?) But the bridge is very short between taking a little wine for your stomach and consuming large quantities of alcohol in search of fun, or to deaden the pain of an empty life. On the one side it’s a life-giving tonic; on the other, a deadly poison. As for me, I will take my tonic as pure, delicious grape juice, and t-totally avoid taking the chance of coming under the control of anything but my ultimately trustworthy God, who has only my best interests, and His best glory, in mind.