Proverbs 20:1

1 Wine is a mocker,
Strong drink is a brawler,
And whoever is led astray by it is not wise. 

Proverbs 23:31-32

31 Do not look on the wine when it is red,
When it sparkles in the cup,
When it swirls around smoothly;

32 At the last it bites like a serpent,
And stings like a viper.

In 2021, a nondescript convenience store in Jacksonville Florida was demolished. The “Sunrise Food Store” stood on the corner of Lakeshore Boulevard and Plymouth Street in a residential neighborhood of the Florida city. Known as “Claude’s Midway Grocery” in the 1950’s and 1960’s, it was the location that inspired the song, “The Ballad of Curtis Loew,” of the famous Southern Rock group “Lynyrd Skynyrd.”  

In the song, the singer recalls his childhood as a young boy who collects soda bottles to redeem for cash at the local country store. There, he would take the money he received for the bottles and give it to an elderly man, sitting out in front of the store with an old guitar. A bluesman named Curtis Loew:

Old Curt was a black man with white curly hair
When he had a fifth of wine he did not have a care
He used to own an old dobro used to play it across his knees
I'd give old Curt my money he'd play all day for me

Play me a song Curtis Loew, Curtis Loew
Well I got your drinking money tune up your dobro
People said he was useless, them people all were fools
'Cause Curtis Loew was the finest picker to ever play the blues

Written by Allen Colins and lead singer Ronnie Van Zandt, the boy and the bluesman are composites of real people who lived in the neighborhood in  Jacksonville where Ronnie grew up. Any rural southern gas station worth its Moon Pies has a local character or two sitting out front, and “Claude’s” would have been no exception. 

The band “Lynyrd Skynyrd” was formed in 1964, eventually taking its iconic name in 1969. “The Ballad of Curtis Loew,” was included on its 1974 album Second Helpings. If you like, you can listen this soulful storytelling tune HERE.

I have enjoyed “The Ballad of Curtis Loew” for many years, but as I have become more involved in ministry, I began to realize something about the lyrics: that boy is enabling an obvious alcoholic!

In this current age of the religion of being “woke” it is fashionable to pick apart old songs and movies to look for politically incorrect transgressions. This is nothing new, for Christians have often looked to the offerings of pop culture to find examples of “worldliness” or the influences of the devil. The specter of “demon rum” stands out like a sore thumb in this classic rock song–along with a million others. 

For generations, western Christianity–in particular, many protestant fundamentalist and evangelical believers–have eschewed the fruit of the vine, and other “adult beverages.” This is nothing new, of course. C.S. Lewis–himself an avid pub-goer–admonishes the newly-converted tee-totaler who begins crusading among his friends:

One of the marks of a certain type of bad man is that he cannot give up a thing himself without wanting every one else to give it up. That is not the Christian way. An individual Christian may see fit to give up all sorts of things for special reasons--marriage, or meat, or beer, or the cinema; but the moment he starts saying the things are bad in themselves, or looking down his nose at other people who do use them, he has taken the wrong turning.–C.S. Lewis

Of course, Lewis is speaking of a person’s heart, and one who has not grasped the joy of true freedom in Christ and how this is to be shared with those for whom he is burdened. He is also confusing earthly, created things as being evil in and of themselves, which cannot be. It is the sinful heart’s devotion to them that makes the idols. 

In the book of Proverbs, Solomon takes such an attitude when dealing with his son and the youth of Israel. The wise king has a stern warning, but does more than rail against the substance–he appeals to the heart of his student:

1 Wine is a mocker,
Strong drink is a brawler,
And whoever is led astray by it is not wise.–Proverbs 20:1 

Solomon does not mince words here as he describes the negative aspects of alcohol. Instead of instructing of its negative health impacts (of which there are many) and other dangers, he seems to make wine and beer tough characters of their own. 

“Wine is a mocker,” he says, for over-indulgence will lead you to become a laughingstock. Drunks are mocked like the lovable loser “Otis” in the “Andy Griffith Show,” or more destructively as having a reputation as a lush or an alcoholic. Nothing gives gossips more glee than reporting who is “hitting the bottle.”  

Wine is a mocker also in that too much of it will loosen your tongue. As the latin saying goes: In vino veritas, or the Greek Ἐν οἴνῳ ἀλήθεια (“In wine, there is truth”) reveals, alcohol lowers inhibitions and you will say things that you regret, either hurtful to others or revealing of your own sins. For an alcoholic, drinking can lead to hateful words and verbal abuse on loved ones that can cause lifelong pain.

“Strong drink is a brawler” warns that beer, liquor–or too many of those green appletinis–is a villain that can often lead to throwing hands and landing blows on another. For the spouse or children of an abusive alcoholic, this can mean regular beatings or other forms of physical abuse. 

Do you know someone who seems to need alcohol to relax and enjoy himself, or that it is an absolute requirement at meals and parties? Do you feel that you must have a glass of wine, beer and whiskey in your hand to socialize or feel complete? Life must be “shaken, not stirred,” right? These may be signs of alcoholism, or that you have been influenced by the images of success, beauty, and even wealth presented to you in our culture. 

This is because alcoholic beverages are good, and that you enjoy partaking in them because God has ordained them. David praises God for His provision, for the grass to grow, food to eat and good wine:

15  And wine that makes glad the heart of man,
Oil to make his face shine,
And bread which strengthens man’s heart..–Psalm 104:14-15

The bible is filled with examples of people abusing, and enjoying wine and other beverages. After the ark, the first thing Noah did was begin to grow grapes–and he was not looking just to make Smucker’s jam (Genesis 9:20).

Jesus, of course, performs His first miracle by turning water into wine at Cana (John 2:1-11). This was not Welch’s grape juice, it was the good stuff! What it must have been like to experience Christ’s perfect vintage at that wedding is something to think about. A sip from that batch must have been but a foretaste of the great wedding feast of the Lamb (Revelation 19:6-9). 

Like his father David, Solomon declares that wine is good. It can be a reward for wisdom’s prosperity (Proverbs 3:10), and Lady Wisdom herself invites you to partake of hers (Proverbs 9:6).

With all of this goodness, however, you must never forget the warnings. Indulging in alcohol can alter your brain in ways that create addiction that can lead to the aforementioned problems. Solomon tells you that if you feel you are in danger of these things, the best thing to do may be to nip addiction it in the bud:

31 Do not look on the wine when it is red,
When it sparkles in the cup,
When it swirls around smoothly;

32 At the last it bites like a serpent,
And stings like a viper.– Proverbs 23:31-32

In these verses you see the charms as well as the dangers. Wine “sparkles in the cup” meaning that the thought of it draws you in, and builds an image of you with it in your mind. The first stages of falling prey to it as an idol lies in your own imagination–how it will make you feel, how you will be accepted by others. 

The next is the dire warning of the bite of a snake, for ultimately it can kill you. Like the implied end of Curtis Loew, an empty cup can be an empty grave. Plus, to partake can be expensive. Think of the money spent on an enjoyment that can become a deadly habit. 

For the believer, to partake in beer, wine and other alcohol is not a sin, but it can lead to that when it turns to wasting precious financial resources better spent on other things–or requires you to sneak around in order to enjoy it. 

As a Christian, your love for Christ and your love for a glass of wine or a good craft beer may require you to make a choice in order to serve Him best. The Apostle Paul prescribes sobriety as a requirement for church officers to be faithful and wise men:

3 not given to wine, not violent, not greedy for money, but gentle, not quarrelsome, not covetous;–I Timothy 3:3 

Wine moms too, were advised to use self-control when they partook:

3 the older women likewise, that they be reverent in behavior, not slanderers, not given to much wine, teachers of good things—Titus 2:3

Wine became such an issue in the Corinth church that Paul had to admonish them for drunkenness and for a “BYOB” practice that pitted wealthier believers against those who were poor (I Corinthians 11:21-22).

Ultimately, Paul and Solomon both seek to point you to the One who has provided all blessings, for it is your witness of Him that you set your heart upon. You may enjoy your “beards and beer” Reformed believers fellowship–but are there some who will not join you because they do not drink? 

You are called on to deal lovingly and carefully with those whom are called “weaker brothers and sisters” in Romans 14. Attitudes toward alcohol among believers are a common cause for disruption of unity. Paul urges avoiding this at all costs, lest you harm a relationship: 

20 Do not destroy the work of God for the sake of food. All things indeed are pure, but it is evil for the man who eats with offense. 21 It is good neither to eat meat nor drink wine nor do anything by which your brother stumbles or is offended or is made weak. 22 Do you have faith? Have it to yourself before God. Happy is he who does not condemn himself in what he approves.–Romans 14:2-22

Do you see both the blessings and the dangers of wine, beer, and other drinks? Your handling of these responsibly and joyfully as you partake or abstain is what shows wisdom–and glorifies the God who has given them to you. Be not drunk with these, as Solomon and Paul warn, but instead be “drunk on the Holy Spirit:"

18 And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit, 19 speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord, 20 giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, 21 submitting to one another in the fear of God.–Ephesians 5:18-21

Let your love for Christ and for others become your addiction. Whether you choose to partake or not, let the melody in your heart be for the blesser and not the blessing.

The Monday—Friday DEEPs are written by Mike Slay and this Saturday Deep is written by Matt Richardson. To subscribe to all the DEEPs click here:

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The weekly study guides, which include the Monday–Friday devotionals plus related questions for discussion or meditation, are available for download here:

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Except as indicated, Scripture taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. ESV stands for the English Standard Version. © Copyright 2001 by Crossway. Used by permission. All rights reserved. NIV stands for The Holy Bible, New International Version®. © Copyright 1973 by International Bible Society. Used by permission. All rights reserved. KJV stands for the King James Version.