- I searched with my heart how to cheer my body with wine—my heart still guiding me with wisdom—and how to lay hold on folly, till I might see what was good for the children of man to do under heaven during the few days of their life. -
Ah man, we got to talk about alcohol, everybody’s favorite church topic. Despite all the controversy, I think it’s actually simple, one that we can easily be united on.
Don’t drink it, or you’re going to Hell. See you Thursday guys!
Bad joke out of the way; let’s dig in.
Now, I know there’s a lot more to this verse than just the alcohol part, but we’ve discussed most of it already.
Solomon is guiding his inner man with wisdom, wants to know what folly has to offer, and searches them both to find out what provides meaning.
The new piece? Solomon turned to the bottle to cheer himself up.
Pretty sure they left that part out of my Sunday School class too.
Now, why did he do this? Well, looking back at the first two verses, it seems Solomon was depressed.
I think it’s safe to assume that he knew there wasn’t anything good at the bottom of the bottle. He knew of its dangers, warning of them liberally in Proverbs.
Solomon needed to cope, and the bottle provided relief. Really puts into perspective where he is at mentally.
This becomes clear in the next few verses where he looks at the different tasks and pleasures he examined in his search for meaning. His drinking habit is not associated with them.
Given the current debate on drinking, this verse doesn’t seem to really add anything to it. It’s mainly a comment on an action that Solomon took that wasn’t in his quest for meaning.
Did you hear it?
As a kid, my main “drive” to not drink had little to do with what my parents told me about alcohol or what I read in the Bible, although it played a role.
I honestly couldn’t see anything more boring to do with your time. Yeah, you guessed right. I got invited to a lot of parties.
Let’s talk about what alcohol is. It’s a poisonous, social lubricant, removing inhibitions. We’ve all got the college friend who thinks they’re not interesting until they’ve thrown back a few.
Humans are the only creature acutely aware of the future. We can plan, adapt, and worry about all kinds of things thanks to that gift.
Alcohol is a promise with the people around us that the future matters less than the present moment. Depending on your level consumption changes the meaning of that sentence a lot.
So, what is Solomon saying? I had to take a break. I had to turn my mind off. It was too much!
That’s not exactly behavior we want to emulate. Should we all get 1,000 wives/concubines because Solomon did it?
What am I trying to say? This was a crutch for Solomon when pursuing his goal became too hard.
Fair enough. Life is hard. But, it was a distraction from finding meaning in life.
Have you found God’s purpose?
Do you feel incomplete, like you’re missing the point?
Maybe you’ve got a crutch like alcohol. Maybe not.
Listen to your heart and pay attention to how your actions lead to or detract from God’s victory in your life.