Living with Purpose – part 1
And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery,
but be filled with the Spirit (Eph 5:18).
It is Monday afternoon and a young man enters my office for counseling and prayer; he has a good job in a large Commercial Bank, but today he could not go because he was nursing a bad hangover. A hangover is the experience of various unpleasant sensations you get the day after consuming a lot of alcohol; typical symptoms of a hangover may include headache, drowsiness, vomiting, concentration problems, dizziness, spinning world, anxiety and general misery that may last up to 24 hours. This had gone on habitually, and he was tired; and after a wantonly wasted Sunday, this young man could find nowhere else to turn but to the Lord Jesus Christ – he gave his life in full surrender.
St. Paul urges his listeners to live with purpose; he uses debauchery as the summary of the dangers of getting drunk with ‘wine’. Debauchery is defined as excessive indulgence in sensual pleasures, involving excessive drinking and promiscuity; it is negative and undesirable in every sense negative. It is the opposite of being safe, protected and preserved. Drinking therefore seems to disarm a man’s conscience of every rationality and moral objectivity and renders him a defenseless target of attacks from the dark world. That can ruin life.
There are many people who struggle with drinking and such drug addictions; these include men with families, young adults, even youth – after ruining a great prime section of their lives in addictive actions that later enslave them, they live to regret! Many relationships break, adultery goes on uncontrolled, huge sums of money are lost, people become unproductive, others even contract diseases! Think about yourself, and think about your neighbour, a family member near or distant; take the burden and receive the call to action.
Paul recommends that we should rather be filled with the Holy Spirit. In another epistle, he states that our bodies were made to be the temple of the Holy Spirit, and so should not be subjected to such kinds of destructive indulgences. Living with purpose means defeating these vices and honouring God in our lives. Struggling in this are? We can help. Advise and refer someone you know needs this help as well.
God bless you.