It’s a Wonderful Life

“It is not for kings, O Lemuel, it is not for kings to drink wine, or for rulers to take strong drink, lest they drink and forget what has been decreed and pervert the rights of all the afflicted.” [1]

May God grant us the wisdom to choose living for His glory and for the uplifting of others rather than living for the palatable pleasure of drinking wines and strong drinks.

“Give strong drink to the one who is perishing, and wine to those in bitter distress; let them drink and forget their poverty and remember their misery no more.” [2]

The above verses note that strong drink and wine are used as a coping mechanism for those who are perishing so they can forget their poverty and misery. Why would anyone who is happy and abounding in blessings like a king or a rich ruler want to take a numbing agent to forget?

“Open your mouth for the mute, for the rights of all who are destitute. Open your mouth, judge righteously, defend the rights of the poor and needy.” [3]

Rather than waste one’s wealth on a drink designed for forgetting and numbing, why not use one’s position of influence to help people who have no clue how to live well? Rather than drinking as they do, use your unimpaired heart and mind to direct the poor and needy to resources and means to overcome their crisis.

Or as the Lord says in another place, “Do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit, addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart, giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.” [4]

Be filled with the Holy Spirit! The Holy Spirit fills out mouth with songs and melodies of worship to God. God created and sustains all things. When we praise, thank and worship Him, He reveals to us how much He has and how much He wants to bless the lives of others through us. Rather than leaving us inward and feeling bad about ourselves, He points us outward to consider those whose situation is worse than our own, and He leads us with action steps to make our community a better place to live.

If you are familiar with the movie, “It’s a Wonderful Life,” it emphasizes how one person’s resolve not to let others suffer can be the difference between a community overcome by degradation and crime or a community where love and care for one another is flourishing and enjoyed.

[1] Proverbs 31:4-5
[2] Proverbs 31:6-7
[3] Proverbs 31:8-9
[4] Ephesians 5:17-20