Luke 21:34 And take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting, and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and so that day come upon you unawares. 35 For as a snare shall it come on all them that dwell on the face of the whole earth. 36 Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man.
This passage of scripture warns us not to become involved with the unrestrained gluttony and drunkenness that has come to characterize the age in which we live, especially during the holiday season, when we are most prone to do everything to excess. As every year has drawn to a close, the intemperate indulgence in food and drink has ramped up significantly, and every new year brings fresh resolutions to lose the pounds, resolutions which begin to be implemented with determination and rigor, but which often fade as the months and days go by. There is a reason why the gyms are full on new years day, and there is a reason why their membership and attendance fall off significantly after the first few months of each year.
Nothing is wrong with eating and drinking, but what the Lord speaks against is the excess to which it is usually carried during the festive times of the year. Too much of a good thing is just as bad as a little of a bad thing, thus the Bible teaches us to be temperate in all things, doing all to the glory of God. Let's read:
1st Corinthians 10:31 Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.
2nd Peter 1:5 And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge; 6 And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness; 8 For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Alexander the great was a man famed for his victories on the battle field, and wheresoever his army went, fear and dread fell upon those who were to be imminently conquered. But the great Alexander lost the greatest of all battles, for he never conquered himself, but rather gave himself up to intemperance in drinking, a habit which ultimately led to his untimely demise. As Christians we can take away very important lessons from Alexander's rise and fall, for his after history shows us in no uncertain terms, what will be the result of intemperance in any line. A chain is as strong as its weakest link, and if we let loose the reins of self-control over the holidays for any reason, we will have to deal with the results, which can take many years to mitigate.
We therefore end with a passage of scripture which cautions us against the free and unrestrained indulgence in food and drink, for as Christians, we will be held to a much higher standard than governs the secular world, which is estranged from Christ. Let's read:
1st Corinthians 9:24 Know ye not that they which run in a race run all, but one receiveth the prize? So run, that ye may obtain. 25 And every man that striveth for the mastery is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a corruptible crown; but we an incorruptible. 26 I therefore so run, not as uncertainly; so fight I, not as one that beateth the air: 27 But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway.
May God add His blessing to the study and practice of His word. "Good night" and God bless!