TrustAndObey said:
I've seen families split up over it, people lose their jobs because of it...you name it! Starting out in "moderation" is to blame for just about every addiction there is! Addiction sneaks up on you and you can't control it or it wouldn't be an addiction.
I have the bike because I'm reminding myself that one day I may actually save up enough to buy one...and yes, it broke the blessings bank! I'm broke!
After having seen the devastation...personally, that alcohol does to not just the individual who is imbibing, but to the family as well...I simply cannot believe it is something that Jesus would even want us to touch, let alone ingest.
This dastardly concoction completely destroyed many of the members of my own family. It runs through both sides. On my mother's side she had a brother who was alcoholic, and she herself was alcoholic. Her Uncle on her mother's side was SO bad that if he couldn't get real liquor he would drink RUBBING ALCOHOL. It's no wonder he died of throat cancer. I watched my uncle die from cirrhosis of the liver. I can still remember being at the hospital, (I couldn't have been more than 12), and my mother talking to the doctor. I heard her say, "Oh Lord no, he's drinking WAY more than that per day." The doctor ordered alcohol (the drinking kind) put in his IV, but it was too late. You see my uncle had lied to the doctor about how much he was drinking, they didn't give him any at all, and he died from that total withdrawal, MORE than from the cirrhosis.
I was lucky to see both of my parents give it up when my daughter was born. They never touched the stuff after that.
Alcohol, in my humble opinion, is more insidious than illegal drugs, and I will tell you why. Alcoholics start out drinking socially, generally. The scary part is that none of them know which drink is going to be that "one too many", the one that pushes them over the edge and "hooks" them. This is from alcohol COUNSELORS, this information isn't just something I'm making up. That's one of the main reasons it's dangerous to even mess with. The other reason it is so lethal is that it
ISN'T illegal. You can get it at any corner store or mini-mart or gas station. The LAST one kills me. "Do NOT Drink and Drive", but here buy a 40 oz. when you pay for your gas.
People kid themselves by not thinking of alcohol as being the drug that it is. When I worked in corrections, we had programs for addiction, and it was called..."Drugs AND Alcohol Counseling". I didn't agree with that, and I brought it up every chance I got. We are NEVER going to take alcoholism as the serious problem it is if we don't put it directly in the category it belongs in. It should be DRUG COUNSELING - period.
But you won't see that, and you know why? Because too many politicians imbibe. Too many police officers, judges, attorneys, you name it. If we call it a drug, that wouldn't look to good on their resumes now would it. Social drinking is OK in their book, so that's that.
I used to live across the street, on Long Island, from a police officer...a detective to be exact. Every summer this guy had a party for all of his comrades. I would sit on my front steps and watch in amazement, as his guests (other police officers) would STAGGER to their car to drive home. I would always say a prayer that they didn't kill themselves or anyone else on their way home. Call the police? LOL, most of them were THERE. And the ones that weren't wouldn't have done anything about it.
Every time you drink alcohol, even 1 shot of whiskey, it kills off brain cells.
And for those who think otherwise....Beer IS alcohol, and it is just as bad as straight liquor. A 12 oz. can of beer has the equivalent of 1 shot of liquor. It takes them longer, because of the amount in each can, but a person gets JUST as inebriated on beer as they do the "hard stuff".
The best advice is just plain leave it alone. It's the devil's brew.
