Proverbs 23:31-32 - Homiletics

The danger of strong drink

I. IT IS TERRIBLY FASCINATING .

1 . It is beautiful to the eye. The wine sparkles in the cup.

2 . It is palatable. Though children at first shudder at it, as at some unnatural product, the early dislike is easily surmounted, and then nothing can be more attractive.

3 . It is exhilarating. It gives pleasurable excitement, stimulates jaded energies, enlivens conversation, drowns sorrow, and promises still larger enjoyments.

4 . It is recommended by social influences. Good fellowship seems to go with the use of strong drink. In some circles to decline it appears unsociable.

II. IT IS FEARFULLY DANGEROUS . The mischief is not seen at first. It is "at last" that "it biteth like a serpent" Hence its snake-like deception, as welt as the deadliness of its venom. But this venom is so deadly that all need to be warned against its fatal consequences. It bites in many places; e.g. :

1 . The purse. Money runs out like water, business fails, the home is wrecked and broken up as the effect of this serpent-bite of strong drink.

2 . The health. The firm hand becomes palsied, the bright eye dimmed, and the strong body diseased when this venom of intoxication is in the blood.

3 . The mental powers. The brain is weakened with the body. Thought is paralyzed or reduced to inanity. The lawyer, the doctor, the scholar, lose the faculties necessary for their avocations.

4 . The moral nature. The one sin of intemperance too often debauches the conscience and prepares the way for other sins (see Proverbs 23:33 ).

5 . Reputation. The drunkard loses his character. His good name vanishes in smoke when this deadly serpent lays hold of him.

6 . Soul life. This, too, is poisoned and slain. Religion is wrecked. The drunkard cannot enter the kingdom of heaven.

III. IT SHOULD BE UTTERLY SHUNNED . It is urged that all these indisputably evil things only come from drinking to excess. They are the results of the abuse, not of the use of strong drink. Men should be wise enough to take warning, and not to go to excess with what, used in moderation, is perfectly harmless. This was not the opinion of the wisest man. He not only urged his reader to refrain from excess; he would have him not even look at the fascinating cup, lest he should be ensnared by its snake-like charms. Many things concur to demand this extra caution.

1 . The terrible extent and evil of intemperance. This is no small failing, but a national vice, and a source of wide and awful wretchedness. As no ordinary enemy has to be faced, so no ordinary means will secure us against it.

2 . The insidious nature of the temptation. It works by slow degrees. At first it appears to be harmless. The fatal steps lead down slowly and without a shock of surprise, till it is too late to return. It is best to hold back at first.

3 . The needlessness of the strong drink. Except in particular conditions of weakness and illness, it is not required. To renounce it is not to sacrifice any really good thing.