Woe to that wreath, the pride of Ephraim’s drunkards, to the fading flower, his glorious beauty, set on the head of a fertile valley—to that city, the pride of those laid low by wine! – Isaiah 28:1

Today’s Scripture Reading (January 19, 2017): Isaiah 28

I have to respect the producers of the sitcom “Mom” for being willing to take on a cultural white elephant in their story line – alcohol abuse. In a world where alcohol and drug abuse always seems to be someone else’s problem, which was actually a plot line in a recent 2017 episode of the sitcom, it is sometimes hard to speak with any personal emotion about drinking. Most of us seem to believe that we can handle our alcohol; that alcohol abuse is simply not our problem – it is a problem of the other person. And some of us are superb at hiding our alcohol and drug abuse. There is this underlying foundation in our culture that seems to be teaching us that we should be able to handle alcohol.

But the truth is that we can’t. The most recent statistics that I have on hand about the economic cost to our society is from the United States. In a report that was updated on January 1, 2017, the cost of alcohol abuse is $249 billion each year. The report goes on to say that just over $100 billion of our stupidity is paid for by the government. And this in a time when conservatives are screaming for ways to balance our budgets – admittedly, $100 billion won’t do it, but it would be a great start. A further $5.5 billion each year is directly attributable to damage done to an unborn fetus because of drinking while pregnant. Underage drinking costs us $24.3 billion each year. Oh, and according to the report, these numbers are most definitely low because alcohol-related expenses are notoriously under-reported.

So, do we need to head back to the prohibition era thinking with regard to alcohol? To be honest, that doesn’t work either. And for some of us, it is not that we have to stop drinking for our well-being. But if you are one of the many who can’t have one drink without it becoming a second, third and tenth, then yes, a complete stop is the only solution. This is the daily battle of the characters on “Mom,” and it is a struggle that we should all respect. But for those of us who can stop after one, then drinking responsibly is an appropriate answer.

Isaiah looks at the Northern Kingdom of Israel and places the problems of the nation on a false pride which has led them to be a nation of drunkards. With all of privileges and benefits of being a country placed on a fertile plain, they have let it all go to waste in order to get drunk. But, soon, the prophet sees a nation, not of economic wealth because of their natural resources, but rather one who is laid low because of their alcohol abuse. A kingdom of the irresponsible who overlooked the high cost of alcohol abuse.

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Isaiah 29