The Signs of the Times
April 2, 1902
The Curse of Drunkenness
Woe unto them that are mighty to drink wine, and men of strength to mingle strong drink; which justify the wicked for reward, and take away the righteousness of the righteous from him! Therefore as the fire devoureth the stubble, and the flame consumeth the chaff, so their root shall be as rottenness, and their blossom shall go up as dust; because they have cast away the law of the Lord of hosts, and despised the word of the Holy One of Israel.” ST April 2, 1902, par. 1
Notwithstanding thousands of years of experience and progress, the same dark blot that stained the first pages of history remains to disfigure our modern civilization. Drunkenness, with all its woe, is found wherever we go. The resolve to turn God's blessings into a curse was formed in the councils of the enemy, and by him insinuated into the minds of human beings under his control. He has laid his plans with subtlety and craft. Close by our doors are his death-traps. On the corner of almost every street in our large cities is a saloon, made as attractive as possible, to tempt the weak and unwary. ST April 2, 1902, par. 2
The command, “Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself,” places on man the responsibility of being his brother's keeper, not his destroyer; of leading him to God, not away from God. But men who occupy high positions of trust in the world, who have pledged themselves to work for the good of the people, violate the principles of right by licensing the sale of that which they know to be a deadly evil. ST April 2, 1902, par. 3
Under the bewitching power of temptation, man indulges an appetite that knows no restraint, is subject to no control. With trembling eagerness, he seizes the glass held out to him by the liquor-seller, and one taste sweeps away every good resolution. He sells his reason for a glass of rum; he is unable to distinguish between right and wrong; cruelty and murder take possession of his soul; utterly unconscious of his actions, he lifts his hand to do a deed from which, in his sober moments, he would shrink with horror. He is arrested, and those who legalized the sale of that which changed him from a sane man into a madman, are now called upon to pass sentence upon him. He is sent to prison, leaving behind him, very likely, a wife and children to wrestle with poverty and hardship. Let men think seriously of these things; let them beware lest they have the blood of their fellow-men on their hands. There is a higher tribunal than the tribunals of earth—a tribunal before which every man must stand to answer for the deeds done in the body. ST April 2, 1902, par. 4
“Come now, and let us reason together saith the Lord; though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool. If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land; but if ye refuse and rebel, ye shall be devoured with the sword; for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it. How is the faithful city become an harlot! it was full of judgment; righteousness lodged in it; but now murderers. Thy silver is become dross, thy wine mixed with water; thy princes are rebellious, and companions of thieves; every one loveth gifts, and followeth after rewards; they judge not the fatherless, neither doth the cause of the widow come unto them.” ST April 2, 1902, par. 5
“The destruction of the transgressors and the sinners shall be together; and they that forsake the Lord shall be consumed. For they shall be ashamed of the oaks which ye have desired, and ye shall be confounded for the gardens that ye have chosen.” In some cities there are grounds, made attractive by flowers and music, in which all kinds of intoxicating liquors are sold. The time will come when the prophecy shall be fulfilled, “Ye shall be as an oak whose leaf fadeth, and as a garden that hath no water. And the strong shall be as tow, and the maker of it as a spark, and they shall both burn together, and none shall quench them.” ST April 2, 1902, par. 6
The Lord says to liquor-dealers, “Your hands are full of blood. Wash you, make you clean; put away the evil of your doings from before Mine eyes; cease to do evil; learn to do well; seek judgment, relieve the oppressed, judge the fatherless, plead for the widow.” ST April 2, 1902, par. 7
On the books of heaven, the liquor-dealer is charged with the sins that those to whom he sold liquor were led to commit while under its influence. Look at the drunkard, you who place the bottle to your neighbor's lips. Look well at your work. That man gave you money, and in return you gave him that which placed him lower than the beasts. The luster has gone from his eye; his brain is paralyzed; and his muscles left without control. Reeling from side to side, he staggers along the street,—a specimen of your handiwork. If drunkenness were not so common, the indignation of the bystanders would be excited, and steps would be taken to stop the sale of liquor. ST April 2, 1902, par. 8
A demon-power is at work in our world, sowing seeds which spring up and yield an abundant harvest. At a railway station a wrong signal is given, there is a collision, and many lives are lost. And when investigation is made, it is found that the one whose work it was to give the signal, had been drinking. A vessel, freighted with precious souls, goes down at sea; and from the survivors it is learned that at the time of the accident those in charge of the vessel were intoxicated. ST April 2, 1902, par. 9
The terrible results of drunkenness,—the accidents, the suffering of women and children, the revolting crimes committed, the transmission of evil from generation to generation,—are traced by God to the men in positions of power, who could do much to remedy the evil. It is their duty to employ every legitimate means for putting an end to the liquor traffic. ST April 2, 1902, par. 10
The drunkard is a slave to habit; but instead of coming to his relief, instead of breaking the chains that bind him, his fellow-men continue to legalize the sale of that which makes him what he is. Only Satan could so harden the heart. Men see their fellow-men sinking deeper and deeper in degradation, yet they make no effort to help them, no effort to place temptation out of their reach. Under the sanction of the law, the infamous traffic goes on, and men fall lower and lower. What would we think of men who could watch a shipwreck without making any effort to save those on board? But even more hardhearted are those who uphold the traffic that makes men drunkards. ST April 2, 1902, par. 11
Mrs. E. G. White