One of my brothers who used to binge on beer in his younger days often teased me whenever our conversation involved alcohol. In deference to my fledgling faith then, he never sent me to buy beer. However, he would argue that there was nothing wrong with drinking, often quoting two passages of scripture. One was that Jesus turned water to wine. The other was where Paul told Timothy to drink a little wine. However, whenever our discussion trailed towards the reason Paul told Timothy to drink wine, which was his infirmity, I knocked off his argument. Besides the banters between brothers, the best way to find out if wine is admissible is to check its effect on people’s life. Alcohol has wrecked many homes and health. It is also the reason for the poverty of many people. No wise person wants to add to the list of casualties.
In our text, Noah was seen planting a vineyard. He drank the wine till he was drunk and ended up ridiculing himself. The scripture rightly said, “Wine is a mocker, Strong drink is a brawler, And whoever is led astray by it is not wise.” (Proverbs 20:1 NKJV). Many have thrown away nobility to addiction to alcohol. The consequences are far beyond whatever thrill it provides. Noah’s story provides a lesson beyond the scope of drinking. I once taught on our text and titled it THE WINE OF SUCCESS. This does not necessarily connote literal wine. Success would bring with it certain privileges that were not previously available. If care is not taken, one could indulge in those privileges and end up like Noah. The wine of success can be intoxicating indeed; so one has to apply greater caution the more he climbs the social, economic, and corporate ladder.