Being Sober Minded II: Alcohol, rest, and exercise – they promise too much and offer too little

[prisonchaplain]

To hear all three parts of Being Sober Minded:  http://www.anglelake.org/resources/online-sermons/?sermon_id=301

 

Whereas most Americans enjoy the relaxation and entertainment of movies, television and video games, others achieve their goal through alcohol.  Yet, our culture’s drinking is largely corrupt.  More often than not, drinking starts as thrill-seeking and mild rebellion.  21 has been the national minimum drinking age since 1984.  Nevertheless, most Americans who drink began doing so in their high school years, if not earlier.  Granted, the parties were plentiful, and many adults winked and nodded.  Yet, inside they knew what they were doing was illegal.  Thus begins the seeds of post-modern thinking—ultimately, we judge for ourselves what is right and wrong.

 

Many drinking adults look at the prohibition on late-teen drinking as silly and unnecessary.  Yet, the stricter law has reduced drinking-related accidents, homicides, and suicides for the 18-21 age group.  According the US National Library of Medicine and National Institute of Health:  Results from the Guttman scale indicated that alcohol represented the "gateway" drug, leading to the use of tobacco, marijuana, and other illicit substances. Moreover, students who used alcohol exhibited a significantly greater likelihood of using both licit and illicit drugs.  Why?  Well, if alcohol is illegal for me, and yet most adults could care less, why should marijuana be a problem?  Or other drugs?  Yes, it is a slippery slope—one more than a few slide down.

 

Another reality is that alcohol, itself, is a killer—even when there are no accidents or abuse.  One of my relatives received an ultimatum from his wife, and quit drinking in his 40s.  He died at 87, laughing and surrounded by family and loved ones.  His son chose the bottle.  He died at 68 of end-stage liver disease.  A few family members—including me—were at his bedside, watching his bloated stomach and blackened teeth, sighing as he passed into eternity.

 

Perhaps most frightening is that alcohol is often a lubricant allowing some to commit the most heinous acts.  It numbs us, so we can do what we know we should not.  I encountered an individual in prison, who was charged with a crime most would describe as icky and disgusting.  I asked him if there was anything he did, prior to his viewings.  He responded, “What do you mean?”  His face had a flushed reddish coloring, and that his age lines were pronounced.  So I said, “I don’t know—maybe you drank some, first?” 

“Oh yeah,” he responded.  “I had to get sloppy drunk, to work up the nerve.”

 

Many, maybe most people, believe it is okay to drink moderately.  However you are able to make your peace with God, ask yourself if your drinking is truly moderate, and if it simply offers modest relaxation.  Or…is it more?

 

Another reason to long for the weekend is just to get a day or two of sleeping in.  Americans generally do not get enough rest.  According to WebMD, 20% of Americans get less than six-hours of sleep a day.  The percentage getting eight-hours keeps declining as well.    Seven hours is considered optimum.  Why does it matter?  So I’m a little tired, right?  Hey, I can sleep more when I retire!  Well . . .  The Sleep in America polls and several large studies have linked sleep deficits with poor work performance, driving accidents, relationship problems, and mood problems like anger and depression.  Also, there is a growing list of health risks has been documented in recent studies, too.  Heart disease, diabetes, and obesity have all been linked with chronic sleep loss.

 

God knew.  In Psalm 127:2 we read: In vain you rise early and stay up late, toiling for food to eat-- for he grants sleep to those he loves.  Also, in Exodus 34:21 there is the command:  “Six days you shall labor, but on the seventh day you shall rest; even during the plowing season and harvest you must rest.

While most of us struggle to get enough rest, there is a warning about the lazy.  Proverbs 26:16:  The sluggard is wiser in his own eyes than seven men who can give a discreet answer.  Is it not true that the laziest person is usually the one with the loudest voice, the most ideas on how others can do better, and who is the most comfortable with self-praise?

 

My congratulation goes to those who use their weekends for physical exercise.  The Centers for Disease Control say that 80% of Americans do not get the recommended kinds/amount of exercise.  Consider Super Bowl Sunday.  There are a few dozen guys, grossly over-exercised, over-conditioned, sometimes steroid-enhanced, out on the field of battle.  There are roughly 100,000 woefully under-exercised and highly-inebriated fans in the stands.  Then there are the 100s of millions of snack-gorged, soda-pop bloated fans watching TV!

 

Even the Christian Bible tells us that it is a good thing to get some exercise.  We believe our bodies are the temple of the Holy Spirit.  We should take care of them.  The idea of self-care extends to our emotional, psychological, and spiritual care.  We are to be healthy, because we are God’s people, and stewards of the life he gives us.

 

Besides movies and television, alcohol may be the most common means of seeking entertainment and relaxation.  Yet, more often than not, it poisons our lives.  Sleep and exercise are healthy options.  They do our bodies and minds good.  Still, we know what it is to laugh, to feel good, to be proud of a good workout, or refreshed after a good rest.  Within hours all is forgotten, and we find ourselves again grinding on until our next Friday.  Is there not more?