Today I read Leviticus 10 . The chapter starts out with a lesson in the importance of having the proper authority. Two men who are not set apart as the priests offered what is referred to as strange fire in the scriptures. The Lord was extremely not pleased by this and send fire to consume them. I have often wondered why the punishments in the old days were so severe compared to today where if someone tries to do something without the proper authority it is just invalid. I don't have an answer but perhaps it will come in the future. This is not the last time we will read of someone being slain for doing something the shouldn't have.
The part of the chapter I enjoy most is when God commands Aaron and his sons to abstain from liquor. The Lord then goes on to state that this will separate the holy from the unholy, common from the uncommon. Now, some might state that God was only commanding the priests to abstain from liquor, and they would be right. But my rebuttal is, why would we want to partake in something that the Lord has deemed will make us unholy? I have never, and figure I never will, understand the worlds fascination with alcohol. I don't understand why so many people choose to drink alcohol, why so many are addicted to it and won't even admit it.
To me it seems a cowards drink. It is a drink that people use to run away from his/her pain instead of facing their problems and trying to utilize the Atonement to resolve their issues. Now granted, I have had a very easy life. The worst thing I have had to deal with is a good friend committing suicide. I have not had to deal with any abuse in my life, any major illness or accidents that change me physically. My life is really easy honestly. But I do know that the trials I have faced thus far, the speed bumps along my road, I have turned to my wife, my family before she was around, and the Lord. I don't for the life of me understand how crawling in a bottle can help in the slightest. I really try hard not to be judgmental but I really can't help judging this world as unfit when it comes to alcohol consumption. It is a plague that has tormented mankind from its earliest days. I almost have to wonder, did God put it here purely as a test for mankind? It's possible.
I feel happy and lucky that I have never been tempted by alcohol. I have never wanted to try it, never had any desire and am honestly filled with disgust anytime I even seem someone holding an alcoholic beverage in any form. I try my best not to judge, but it is so hard. Perhaps that is my test and trial. I don't know honestly. I do know that I fantasize about a world without liquor and in my dreams it is a place of beauty and happiness. It's called the millennium! Until tomorrow.
No comments:
Post a Comment