Proverbs 23:29-30 – The tale of a drunkard

Wine, like fire, is a good servant but a bad master. When a person is intoxicated with wine, he gives reign to debauchery. He falls into despair and loses self-control that will lead to self-contempt. A drunkard falls into confusion, when sobers up will have a deep sense of guilt. In modern setting, there is a possibility to be overwhelmed by worries, anxieties and problems. Some people believe that alcohol is the solution and are then driven to excessive drinking to a point of drunkenness. In Proverbs 23:29-3o we see the tale of a drunkard. It is a sober warning against becoming a drunkard.

In Proverbs 23:29, a series of six questions was asked. Each of these questions is intended to force a person to think carefully before he embarks on an alcoholic binge. Each question is a hint on a certain aspect of negative effect of being a drunkard. The first, “Who has woe?” warns of the danger a person puts himself in when he becomes drunk. The second, “Who has sorrow?” suggests that drunkenness will bring about needless lamentation. The third, “Who has contention?” tells us that a drunkard is rendered insensitive to reasoning and hence, comes under the delusion that he had been wronged and becomes quarrelsome. The fourth, “Who has complaining?” insinuates that under the influence of alcohol, a person will entertain self-pity. The false sense of being unjustly treated will lead him to complain about almost everything. The fifth, “Who has trouble without cause?” tells us that a drunkard will become aggressive and pick a fight with others and end up in troubles and being wounded for nothing. And the sixth, “Who has redness of eyes?” pictures a person with distorted features. His eyes become abnormally red due to the excessive drinking.  

Verse 30 then gives the answer to the questions raised in verse 29. It is “Those who linger long over wine, those who go to taste mixed wine.” Wine-bibber are those that would become susceptible to negative effect alluded to by the six questions asked in verse 29. What these two verses seek to tell us is this: strong alcoholic drinks create addiction, and addiction brings needless troubles. So, think hard before you become addicted to alcohol, become a drunkard and act foolishly. This wise advice is bluntly echoed in the imperative by the Apostle Paul in Ephesians 5:18, “And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery….” As believers, Paul exhorts us to “…be filled with the Spirit” instead. When we are filled with the Spirit of God, we place ourselves in the position to follow God in His ways that will lead us to magnify Him and bring honour to His name.