The abuse of Alcohol; the alcoholic, the family and the greater society

 

It is the 3rd of January and I am fairly sure that many people celebrated the coming of the new year through drinking plenty of alcohol. As a social drink people do this to get over their inhibitions and have a good time.  I am also sure that many people the next day would have had a hangover.  I am not here to judge you, but I feel it is important to start to look at the facts about alcohol before we move onto looking at what Bavinck says about it.  Let us start in the 19th century with the following picture;


This is taken from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alcohol_abuse

Let us look at the steps

The Drunkard’s Progress

Step 1. A glass with a friend.

Step 2. A glass to keep the cold out.

Step 3. A glass too much.

Step 4. Drunk and riotous.

Step 5. The summit attained. Jolly companions. A confirmed drunkard.

Step 6. Poverty and disease.

Step 7. Forsaken by Friends.

Step 8. Desperation and crime.

Step 9. Death by suicide.

You might look at the image and see the funny side to it but I have to say there is no funny side to suicide at the end or its effects on ones family.  It really does destroy lives.


As far as society is concerned the taxman always pays a lot of money to the alcoholics in some form or other.  The taxman and you the taxpayer pay to run the health service, policing, interventions et al.  Here is a graph from the same wiki;

As far as drugs are concerned the abuse of alcohol is the worst offender.  If you are a heavy drinker my advice would be to actually quit as there are many benefits;

1.     Food on the table for the family

2.     Better health

3.     Longevity of life

4.     In control of your mind

5.     Better friendships with people that care for you

6.     More likely to keep your job.

7.     Being more productive in society and not a leach on the health service.

The above is my take on the abuses of alcoholism but what does God think? This is a far more important question as it is sin and any sin including alcoholism keeps us separated from God.  Let us find out what Bavinck thinks about the issue.

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