HE DIED IN HIS OWN WASTE

He was a very generous, kind and pathetic creature. He cursed in a gentle way. There wasn't much force in the venom behind his words - his continual drunkenness robbed the strength from his body. He only seemed to complain about anything that interrupted his drinking. He would shuffle his feet behind the bar to move from customer to customer. "This one's on the house!" He would smile as he served his drunken partners another round. I suppose misery is in the eye of the beholder - I saw the misery and bondage of incessant inebriation. He saw an escape into a dim world of diminishing pain.

Alcohol can create a box of comfort. A Homeless man sleeps behind this box.

He smelled, his pants were stained with his own body waste. Every once in awhile, a lady visited the bar and looked at him with disgust and disrespect. She may have been his wife, I'm not sure. After she left, I was intoxicated by the pain I saw in his eyes. The hurt that filled my soul was dizzying - I was tipsy- it was like standing on the precipitous edge of a canyon and staring into an abyss of despair and loneliness. I shared his pain. There wasn't much I could do except show him respect and try to be a friend. The last I heard, he died in a bathtub - without water - soaking in his own waste. I feel sad thinking about a wasted life.

That's only one glimpse into the demon alcohol.  Families and businesses are destroyed by drugs and alcohol. It starts with the first sip and continues with the anesthetizing freedom from pain. Every act of becoming buzzed is rooted in fear and the hope of feeling no pain. Drunkenness comes with a badge of pride that allows the wearer to sink to new lows without feeling anymore disgrace. I've listened to a drunk and homeless man brag about living under the same bridge for 5 years. I guess that he was viewing his plight of longevity in one place to be a sign of stability. The weight of self imposed worthlessness only grows heavier with time. Most of the street people whom I have met seem to be immobilized by the depth of their rock bottom self esteem. 

The Cross is like a tree in Spring - new life.

The only answer that I've found that buoys the downtrodden spirit is the indomitable testimony of Jesus. He faced the worst depravity of mankind with a focus on forgiveness and freedom. He was rejected, abandoned, abused, tortured and killed. He is the role model for growing into new life.

 

 

 

Today's Wise Saying is taken from Proverbs 23:26-28.

Proverbs 23:29-35 

New International Version

Saying 19

²⁹ Who has woe? Who has sorrow? Who has strife? Who has complaints? Who has needless bruises? Who has bloodshot eyes? ³⁰ Those who linger over wine, who go to sample bowls of mixed wine. ³¹ Do not gaze at wine when it is red, when it sparkles in the cup, when it goes down smoothly! ³² In the end it bites like a snake and poisons like a viper. ³³ Your eyes will see strange sights, and your mind will imagine confusing things. ³⁴ You will be like one sleeping on the high seas, lying on top of the rigging. ³⁵ “They hit me,” you will say, “but I’m not hurt! They beat me, but I don’t feel it!  When will I wake up so I can find another drink?”

Proverbs 23:29-35

The Message

18

Who are the people who are always crying the blues? Who do you know who reeks of self-pity? Who keeps getting beat up for no reason at all? Whose eyes are bleary and bloodshot? It’s those who spend the night with a bottle, for whom drinking is serious business. Don’t judge wine by its label, or its bouquet, or its full-bodied flavor. Judge it rather by the hangover it leaves you with—the splitting headache, the queasy stomach. Do you really prefer seeing double, with your speech all slurred, Reeling and seasick, drunk as a sailor? “They hit me,” you’ll say, “but it didn’t hurt; they beat on me, but I didn’t feel a thing. When I’m sober enough to manage it, bring me another drink!”

Proverbs 23:29-35

Amplified Bible 

²⁹ Who has woe? Who has sorrow? Who has strife? Who has complaining? Who has wounds without cause? Who has redness and dimness of eyes?

³⁰ Those who tarry long at the wine, those who go to seek and try mixed wine.

³¹ Do not look at wine when it is red, when it sparkles in the wineglass, when it goes down smoothly.

³² At the last it bites like a serpent and stings like an adder.

³³ [Under the influence of wine] your eyes will behold strange things [and loose women] and your mind will utter things turned the wrong way [untrue, incorrect, and petulant].

³⁴ Yes, you will be [as unsteady] as he who lies down in the midst of the sea, and [as open to disaster] as he who lies upon the top of a mast.

³⁵ You will say, They struck me, but I was not hurt! They beat me [as with a hammer], but I did not feel it! When shall I awake? I will crave and seek more wine again [and escape reality].

Proverbs 23:29-35

King James Version 

²⁹ Who hath woe? who hath sorrow? who hath contentions? who hath babbling? who hath wounds without cause? who hath redness of eyes?
³⁰ They that tarry long at the wine; they that go to seek mixed wine.
³¹ Look not thou upon the wine when it is red, when it giveth his colour in the cup, when it moveth itself aright.
³² At the last it biteth like a serpent, and stingeth like an adder.
³³ Thine eyes shall behold strange women, and thine heart shall utter perverse things.
³⁴ Yea, thou shalt be as he that lieth down in the midst of the sea, or as he that lieth upon the top of a mast.
³⁵ They have stricken me, shalt thou say, and I was not sick; they have beaten me, and I felt it not: when shall I awake? I will seek it yet again.

Drunken people engage in destructive behavior. A cloudy mind operates in a fog. Good judgment is impaired through inebriation. DWI - "Dreams Wasted Ignominiously."

Heart-Storming Challenge:

• How do you face fear?
• Do you have an accountability partner with whom you can share your most intimate insecurities with?
• Don't ever give up on a lost and drunken person. It is never too late to save a soul.

 Thanks for your time. Go do something nice for somebody

Jesus loves you and so do we.