Please help me interpret Proverbs 31:6-7 "Give strong drink unto him that is ready to perish, and wine unto those that be of heavy hearts. Let him drink, and forget his poverty, and remember his misery no more."
Answer: Alcohol is a medicine and when used as such it is not sinful. Drinking it as a beverage or for non medical use is sin. As a medicine it eases the pain of dying and for those in mourning the same way doctors use pain killing drugs. Alcohol is a depressant mind altering drug. It slows down the central nervous system altering a person's perceptions, emotions, movement, vision, and hearing. In small amounts alcohol can help a person feel more relaxed or less anxious. This verse limits the use of alcohol to medicinal use only. The wording of the verse is clearly intended to apply to limited short term use of this drug. This is not a verse that allows recreational drinking. (See Prov. 20:1; 23:29-35; 31:3-5; Isa. 5:22; 28:7; Hosea 4:11; Hab. 2:15; Rom. 13:13; Eph. 5:18; Gal. 5:19-21; 1 Thess. 5:6-8.)