Raising Kids in the Age of Foolishness

There are enough fools in the world!

Raising Kids in the Age of Foolishness: Drinking Advice #1 Impairment

Alcohol Impairs Judgment and Leads to Foolishness

•             “Wine is a mocker, strong drink a brawler, and whoever is led astray by it is not wise.” — Proverbs 20:1

If alcohol could laugh, it would be laughing at the one who chooses to consume it. I grew up with two acceptable views of alcohol consumption. The first view is do not drink, period. (Did I just type two periods or one. I am not sure.) As Alabama sings, “Drinking was forbidden in my Christian country home…” The second view was that drinking is allowed in moderation. Moderation was hard to define because once you remove the period you must add a question mark, a colon, a semicolon, or an exclamation point. Since I didn’t understand which one to use, I just used the period. Once my cousin, Jamie, and I were playing a gig at a so-called boat club. During the break, we were offered a drink of what the person said was Mountain Dew. The drink did contain Dew, but it had a fair amount of Seagram 7 mixed with it. My previously alcohol-free life was abruptly ended with one sip. It did not lead to a second. I reordered simple MD.

The wise man says “wine” is a mocker, brawler, and leads people astray. The legalists will down some of Kentucky’s finest because the verse is about wine and not the hard stuff. A drinker should not attempt to interpret Scripture. God will not be mocked, but alcohol will make fun of you when your speech slurs, when you stumble into the shrubs, and when you throw up on the carpet. It will laugh when you are pulled over. It will even laugh when you ram into the back of a school bus. Alcohol has a sick sense of humor. It will also cause you to pick a fight with someone twice your size while thinking that you are bullet proof. It will take you further than you ever wanted to go and get you so turned around you will have trouble finding your front door. If your wife is waiting at that front door, you might be greeted with a frying pan.

Parents listen up. You must decide. Is alcohol a loaded gun? Can it kill your child? Do you want to risk their future because you think you drink responsibly? How much more evidence does our society need before it draws the conclusion that we don’t know how to use it responsibly. I am not arguing for another Prohibition in the nation, but I am arguing for Prohibition in your home and your life for the sake of your children. That beer in your frig will tempt your child to see what it tastes like. The child takes the drink, and the drink takes your child. It is up to parents to guard your child’s ability to exercise good judgement. Let’s try raising children responsibly instead of drinking responsibly.