“When the master of ceremonies tasted the water that was now wine, not knowing where it had come from (though, of course, the servants knew), he called the bridegroom over. “A host always serves the best wine first,” he said. “Then, when everyone has had a lot to drink, he brings out the less expensive wine. But you have kept the best until now!”1“Don’t drink only water. You ought to drink a little wine for the sake of your stomach because you are sick so often.” 2 “Who has anguish? Who has sorrow? Who is always fighting? Who is always complaining? Who has unnecessary bruises? Who has bloodshot eyes? It is the one who spends long hours in taverns, trying new drinks. Don’t gaze at the wine, seeing how red it is, how it sparkles in the cup, how smoothly it goes down. For in the end it bites like a poisonous snake, it stings like a viper. You will see hallucinations, and you will say crazy things. You will stagger as a sailor tossed at sea, clinging to a swaying mast. And you will say, “They hit me, but I didn’t feel it. I didn’t even know it when they beat me up. When will I wake up so I can look for another drink?”3 What sorrow for those who get up early in the morning, looking for a drink of alcohol, and spend long evenings drinking wine to make themselves flaming drunk. What sorrow for those who are heroes at drinking wine and boast about all the alcohol they can hold.”4 “Don’t you realize that all of you together are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God lives in you? God will destroy anyone who destroys this temple. For God’s temple is holy, and you are that temple.”5 (NLT)
Alcohol, specifically ethanol, is a colorless, intoxicating liquid produced by fermenting sugars from grains, fruits, or vegetables. Wine is a subset of alcohol fermented from grapes. Jesus turned water into wine, and it was described as “the best wine” by the master of ceremonies, who also said people would have loved to drink the best wine first. Jesus is “the true vine.”6 Vine produces grapefruits. Historically, unfermented fresh grape juice is wine. Jesus turned water into “the best wine,” which “gladdens the heart”7 and symbolizes joy, peace, pleasure, and the festive aspects of life that God provides. It represents the emotional uplifting that God provides from His bounty.
When Apostle Paul told brother Timothy to “drink a little wine for the sake of your stomach because you are sick so often,” what the Apostle Paul probably had in mind was the calmness that the unfermented fresh grape juice or wine would produce in his stomach. Turn your life to Jesus; He is the “True Vine,” and experience the holiness, righteousness, love, peace, joy, goodness, meekness, and mercy in this life and hereafter in eternity.
The above Bible verses also highlight alcohol abuse, excessive drinking, or drunkenness that leads to physical injury, addiction, mental confusion, emotional distress, and spiritual downfall. It causes woe, sorrow, contention, unwanted wounds, redness of eyes, loss of judgment, and the list goes on. Drunkenness is one of the sinful actions produced by a sinful nature that deprives a person of spending eternity in heaven.8Your body becomes the temple of God the moment you are born again. You cannot forfeit eternity with Jesus in His kingdom by choosing to destroy your body with sinful actions, including alcohol use.
According to the 2024 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH), 16.6 million young adults ages 18 to 25 (47.5% in this age group) reported that they drank alcohol in the past month. This includes:8.2 million males ages 18 to 25 (46.7% in this age group);8.4 million females ages 18 to 25 (48.3% in this age group). According to the 2024 NSDUH, 4.2 million full-time college students ages 18 to 25 (46.6%) and 11.8 million other persons of the same age (47.7%) reported drinking alcohol in the past month.”
Alcohol, specifically ethanol, is a colorless, intoxicating liquid. Most of the alcohol is broken down in the liver and transformed into a toxic substance, which is known to cause cancer. This toxic substance can cause significant damage. The breakdown of ethanol also occurs in the pancreas and brain, causing damage to cells and tissues. “The risks and harms associated with drinking alcohol have been systematically evaluated over the years and are well documented. The World Health Organization has now published a statement in The Lancet Public Health: when it comes to alcohol consumption, there is no safe amount that does not affect health. Alcohol is a toxic, psychoactive, and dependence-producing substance and has been classified as a Group 1 carcinogen by the International Agency for Research on Cancer decades ago – this is the highest risk group, which also includes asbestos, radiation, and tobacco.”
The following effects of alcohol abuse are from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. Alcohol:
Avoiding alcohol use is a major component of a healthy lifestyle. We define a healthy lifestyle as a way of living that individuals intentionally adopt, maintain, and practice daily to prevent and control disease, improve their physical, mental, emotional, social, and spiritual well-being, and enhance their quality of life.
Avoiding alcohol use and adopting, maintaining, and continually making healthy choices for a healthy lifestyle requires behavioral change. According to the Institute of Medicine (IOM,2001), “Behavior can be changed, and those changes can influence health. However, “Initiating and maintaining behavior change is complex and difficult” (Pellmar, Brandt, and Baird, 2002). According to DiClemente et al (2019), “Before behaviors can change, the determinant(s) of behavior, the nature of the behavior, and motivation for the behavior must be understood.” There are several behaviors change theories and models that can be applied at multiple levels of influence on human behavior, using a socioecological approach: which states that “human behavior shapes and is shaped by multiple levels of influences.” There are several behaviors change theories and models that can be applied at multiple levels of influence on human behavior, using a socioecological approach: which states that “human behavior shapes and is shaped by multiple levels of influences.” Such levels of influence include intrapersonal (individual), interpersonal (family, friends, peer groups), organizational, community, and public policy.
WLT provides the fundamental truth, rooted in God’s word, for behavior change that promises benefits in this life and in the life to come. This truth brings profound change to individuals’ hearts and minds, transforming their character, behavior, attitudes, beliefs, and knowledge, enabling them to easily adopt, maintain, and continually make healthy daily choices. When individuals adopt a healthy lifestyle, they serve as a model for other family members, including children, and for the broader community. Many diseases, injuries, disabilities, and premature deaths from heart diseases, strokes, cancers, and diabetes can be prevented or reduced with behavior change.
Follow us on our website, blog, and social media platforms, and at conferences, seminars, workshops, community spiritual well-being events, as we use truths rooted in the Word of God to bring you a profound change in your heart and mind, transforming your character, behavior, attitudes, beliefs, and knowledge, enabling you to easily adopt, maintain, and continually make healthy daily choices. We use evidence-based health education and health promotion interventions to provide equitable opportunities to acquire the knowledge, attitudes, skills, and insights needed to avoid alcohol use, adopt and sustain healthy lifestyles, and lead purpose-driven, transformative lives.