Smashing Idols
Week 2 | Drugs and Alcohol
Lisa Scheffler, author
Statistics can’t tell you everything, but they can sure shine light on an issue.
From the news site, Axios:
A survey from late 2020 found 75% of Americans increased their alcohol intake during the pandemic to include at least one more day per month, while women, in particular, increased their alcohol intake by 39% compared to 2019.
Another survey conducted by the American Psychological Association this year found nearly one in four Americans reported drinking more specifically to combat pandemic-related stress, and a separate study found women had a greater increase in excessive drinking than men, to the point that their intake levels were almost equal.[1]
According to The Atlantic
“Even before COVID-19 arrived on our shores, the consequences of [the prevalence and availability of alcohol] were catching up with us. From 1999 to 2017, the number of alcohol-related deaths in the U.S. doubled, to more than 70,000 a year—making alcohol one of the leading drivers of the decline in American life expectancy.”[2]
From the Center for Disease Control:
“Nearly 841,000 people have died since 1999 from a drug overdose.1 Over 70% of drug overdose deaths in 2019 involved an opioid…[3]
Of course, behind those statistics are people. The mom crippled by anxiety who hides vodka in her water bottle. The delivery driver who is abusing pain killers because although he’s injured, he keeps working to make ends meet. The stressed-out teen who sneaks alcohol into his room because it helps him sleep.
Alcohol and drug abuse is a major issue in our nation and in our community. It’s also an issue in the church. Many of you are seeing its devastating effects in the lives of friends and family. Many of you are experiencing it yourself. It’s a sensitive topic, but this week we going to talk about smashing the idols of drugs and alcohol.
Day 1
It’s not hard to see alcohol and drug abuse as idolatry. The false gods of these substances are the ultimate deceivers. They promise fun and escape. “Come join the party!” they call. “We’ll take away your pain and worry!”
Yet for those who linger too long, or return to frequently, the effects can be devastating. Every day we see people sacrificing their children, marriages, careers, money, and health on the altar of drugs and alcohol. Once these gods get a hold of you, their happy and carefree faces darken into the sneer of a slavedriver. It’s hard to escape their chains.
We’re going to start our week looking at some of what the Bible has to say directly about alcohol. Then we’re going to consider some of the reasons why people turn to drinking and drugs in the first place and look at what God offers us instead.
As you look through the verses below, think about how they characterize drinking. If the only thing you knew about alcohol came from these verses, what would you think about it?
Read
Proverbs 20:1
Wine is a mocker and beer a brawler;
whoever is led astray by them is not wise.
Isaiah 5:11–12 (NIV)
11 Woe to those who rise early in the morning
to run after their drinks,
who stay up late at night
till they are inflamed with wine.
Isaiah 5:22
22 Woe to those who are heroes at drinking wine
and champions at mixing drinks,
Isaiah 28:7–8
7 And these also stagger from wine
and reel from beer:
Priests and prophets stagger from beer
and are befuddled with wine;
they reel from beer,
they stagger when seeing visions,
they stumble when rendering decisions.
8 All the tables are covered with vomit
and there is not a spot without filth.
Habakkuk 2:15
15 “Woe to him who gives drink to his neighbors,
pouring it from the wineskin till they are drunk,
so that he can gaze on their naked bodies!
Ask yourself
- Based on just these scriptures, what are the effects of too much alcohol? What other sins can it lead to?
Pray
Let’s begin this week with communal prayer. Pray this as part of a family of believers and a member of Christ’s body.
Almighty God, God of love, peace, and joy,
Only you are worthy of our devotion. You are good, holy, faithful, and trustworthy.
May we find your unending love completely satisfying. May we trust in you when stress and anxiety threaten to overwhelm us. May we find joy in you.
As a church, lead us away from the false gods of alcohol and drugs. Teach us how to love and support one another in breaking the chains of addiction. May all of us find freedom in Christ.
In your Son’s holy and precious name we ask these things, Amen.
Talk about it
You will benefit from discussing God’s Word with others. The “talk about it” questions are good to answer on your own, but even better to discuss with someone else.
- How do you see alcohol and drug use being promoted in our current culture? How are the dangers of addiction being hidden?
- Why should we take the Bible’s warnings about alcohol seriously? What would it mean for us as a church if all our people were free of their addictions?
A note about “addiction”
The term “addiction” is a bit of a moving target. It’s meaning has shifted from a more clinical diagnoses to more general use. If we consider an addiction as a compulsion to engage in behavior that is or (once was) pleasurable, despite the considerable harm it causes, we can apply it to more than drug and alcohol abuse. Compulsive gambling, shopping, eating, pornography, and even playing video games or binge-watching Netflix can be considered addictions. Yet there are still those who suffer from what the American Psychiatric Association calls, substance use disorder in mild, moderate, or severe forms.
Whatever the addiction, and however it’s defined or classified, God loves and has compassion for the addict. He wants to deliver people from their addictions.
Biblical counselor Ed Welch notes the paradox that many of those struggling with addictions feel. “Addicts make choices. They are in control. They are committed to their way of managing life. Yet, they are also enslaved and out of control.” They are overpowered by the forces the Bible warns us about “the world, the flesh, and the devil.”[4]
When fighting an enemy as powerful as alcohol or drug dependency, it is wise to use all the God-given tools at our disposal. Because substance use disorder involves “complex interactions among brain circuits, genetics, the environment, and an individual’s life experiences”[5] people will need to fight their addiction on several fronts — mentally, emotionally, physically, and of course spiritually.
God can and does heal people from their substance addictions. Sometimes the road is long, and the help of medical and mental health professionals is needed. We should encourage people to seek their help.
If you are struggling with any addiction, we want to come around you as a church family to do battle with you. Very few people break an addiction alone — you need a support group, people rallying around you
[1] https://www.axios.com/americans-drinking-alcohol-pandemic-29ee70d7-40ae-4e71-807a-3f4ad2ee19b8.html
[2] https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2021/07/america-drinking-alone-problem/619017/
[3] https://www.cdc.gov/opioids/data/index.html
[4] Ed Welch https://www.ligonier.org/learn/articles/addictions-and-idolatry/
[5] American Society of Addiction Medicine https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/323465
