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Don’t consume alcohol at weddings

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One out of twelve people in this world is supposedly a drunkard — and it all starts with one social drink among friends and then you get addicted to it and want it everyday and cannot give it up. The Holy book tells us in 1 Corinthians, Chapter 5, verse 11, “You should not associate with a person who calls himself a brother but is immoral or greedy or worships idols or is a slanderer or a drunkard or a thief. Don’t even sit down with such a person.” In the book of Joel, Chapter 1, verse 5, we read, “Awake you drunkards and weep, and wail all you drinkers of wine.”

In 1 Corinthians, Chapter 6, verse 19 we also read, “Do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own.” As the Holy Spirit resides in us, therefore, we are to honour God with our bodies as they “are not our own,” as Saint Paul said. We have indeed been bought with a price and it was not gold or silver or other perishable things by which we were redeemed but it was with the precious, holy and unblemished blood of Jesus Christ (1 Peter, Chapter 1, verses 18 and 19). And as our bodies are God’s temple, we must use them to glorify God and not defile them with unholy things.

Many people in India and elsewhere in the world consume several bottles of alcohol everyday. Those who consume these alcoholic drinks end up damaging their health, cloud their minds, create troubles for others and lead themselves closer to hell and farther away from God. And even though society tells them that drinking and smoking are fun and that people who drink and smoke are social and attractive, and a little quantity of wine or beer is good for your health, the Holy book however tells us something different about this issue. In Proverbs, Chapter 20, verse 1 we read, “Wine is a mocker, strong drink is raging; and whosoever is deceived thereby is not wise.”

Who do you think has your best interest at heart? The big companies that make millions of rupees by getting you to drink as much as possible or God in heaven who created you in His own image and likeness and who warned you against alcohol and told you to live soberly and righteously? Do you think anyone would have listened to Moses or John the Baptist or Daniel the Prophet or the disciples of Jesus Christ if they would have been hanging out at the bar during the happy hours of the day and getting drunk? These men were used by God in a mighty way. God was able to use them mightily because they did not defile their bodies or minds with unholy things.

Let all people who drink and smoke take a pledge that they will try to curb alcohol consumption and stop smoking and whatever money is saved as a result of these, will be donated to charitable institutions or Homes for the elderly persons who have no one to care for them. Give up all actions that displease the Lord Jesus Christ.

An alcoholic is a sick person. He is beset with physical, mental and spiritual infirmities. Alcohol cripples the mind and destroys delicate cells and tissues of the body. An alcoholic is unable to deal with even the usual problems and difficulties which confront him. This is because alcoholism is a bondage to sin. Therefore it is imperative that he, not relying on his own strength turn to the power of God to be relieved from this slavery. That is why he needs treatment. So acknowledging one’s own helplessness, the alcoholic should cry out, “Save me my Lord and my God.”

Various Alcoholic Anonymous groups will also help the alcoholic get out of his habit. It is a long procedure, but it is worth the wait. Before I end this write-up, I would like all Catholics to stop serving hot drinks (country liquor, beer, rum, feni, whisky, wine and brandy) during their functions like christenings, First Holy Communions, confirmations, weddings and even after a funeral which takes place in their homes, as the Holy Bible condemns the drinking of alcohol.

Catholics/Christians should remember that they will not enter the kingdom of heaven if they consume these drinks, as they belong to the devil.

Jubel D’Cruz

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