Article No. 24
3-08-01
DRINKING AND DRINKERS
In almost all social occasions, whether it be a marriage, a birthday, a celebration of victory, a funeral wake or whatever when there are people who gather, drinking is an important part of the activities.
We can say it is almost a ritual that cannot be dispensed with. People expect to be served drinks in a social occasion. The host must be prepared to play the role unless he wants to be regarded as most ungracious.
What really is the significance of drinking in these social occasions? Foremost, it gives someone a thing to busy oneself with when he is in a group. Second, drinking makes the conversations animated or even heated to make merry-making and celebrating a boisterious success. Third, while it is true drinking befuddles the mind as minutes stretch into hours, the drinkerloses his diffidence and becomes an active, uninhibited participant in the exchange of banter.
Drinking, therefore, heats up the crowd, loosens tongues and tears down barriers.
Is drinking a desirable ritual to perform in a gathering? Definitely. Man is a social animal and drinking is one of his tools to establish rapport, camaraderie or simple familiarity with his fellowmen. When one offers another a drink, he is showing good will and friendship.
Drinking, however, can become undesirable when unduly cultivated to the level of a vice. Some say it is alright when it is a sort of “social drinking”; you drink to loosen things up a bit but not to the point of becoming unhinged and suddenly you become a talkative parrot or an aggressive, clawing monkey. When this point is reached, you make a fool of yourself, nay, an undignified clown. When sobriety settles back again, you regret you had one drink too many. As they say, ” you are no longer tipsy, you are drunk.Period.”
But people drink for many reasons. Some drink in an occasion simply to savor the pleasant well-being in a fellowship, some drink to drown out their sorrows. Some drink because there is a compulsive need to drink. It is this kind of people where drinking is already a real problem. To them drinking has become an addiction.
But make no mistake. Drinking is an enjoyable activity for it not only stretches the muscles of your throat, it also strengthens bonds of friendships. It can also serve as the lining or catalyst that hastens the conclusion of business deals.
God has seen the importance of drinking as He also sees that man should be happy. Remember the marriage at Canaan? Mary, the mother of Jesus, saw a disastrous outcome when wine run out in the Canaan marriage and she cajoled Him to make the first miracle to make more wine for the revelers.
There must be some important theological lesson in this for why should God, in the person of Jesus, make the very first miracle on something that is very mundane as drinking?
Admittedly, drinking can also be the cause of ruined relationships, the break-up of families, the disclosure of secrets better untold, and even the cause of feuds and vicious killings.
Again, as they say, “Drink moderately.” Or better still, be a teetotaler.
