February 12, 2017 (Proverbs 23:33)

“Your eyes will see strange sights and your mind confusing things” (Prov 23:33).  Here we continue the theme of intoxicating drink, this verse referring to still another consequence of alcohol, namely its effects on both motor and mental acuity. Blurred vision is but one of the aspects of impaired coordination produced by alcohol, many tests including those used by law enforcement to evaluate potential driving of a vehicle when under the influence. We very likely have heard slurred speech and observed mental confusion if not very twisted judgment at some time. No one has ever been able to successfully argue that alcohol effects the mind in anything but a negative way. And from a spiritual standpoint, any amount of alcohol serves to keep a believer from fully practicing the exhortation of the apostle Paul when he says, “We take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ” (2 Cor 10:5). To the contrary, intoxicating drink predisposes to the bondage of addiction, the subject of next week’s proverb.