Devoted to the Propagation and Defense of New Testament Christianity
VOLUME 20
April 3, 1969
NUMBER 47, PAGE 8b-9a

"It Makes Me Madder Than A Wet Hen!"

Ronny E. Hinds

The "me" in the title is "me"! Yes, your kindly, good-natured, ole preacher. In fact, it makes me want to scream! It makes my stomach feel like relief is just around the corner!

Upset?, you say. No!, not me. I'd just like to knock some "nitwit" heads together. The only reason I don't is that they probably don't have anything in them to hurt.

Now that I feel a little better maybe I can explain to you why I'm so, shall I say, disturbed. If you have heard the news in recent weeks you probably read where the Redwood National Park was dedicated. As one who enjoys seeing and visiting God's beautiful natural gifts to man, I was pleased that such a park was created. On that same day I picked up my evening paper and began reading and on the back of one section was an advertisement which read, "Cheers to the Redwood National Park." This was a full-page ad with over half the page covered with a picture of the redwoods.

By this time you are wondering what this has to do with spiritual things. Let me explain what made me mad. Down in the bottom right hand corner was a bottle of whiskey. This "dumb" ad I was reading was a whiskey advertisement! Down in that corner they had the gall to say, "And a special toast to the people who fought to save its beauty." I must admit my first thought was to append the statement by saying, "and some dumb drunk will burn it down."

But this isn't all. I just happened to pick the paper up backwards so that this ad was the first thing I saw in that section. Well, as I proceeded to read through the section from page 1, I noticed this interesting headline on page 2: "Crash Victim's Body Had High Alcohol Rating." Let's hear it everybody: "Cheers...and a special toast to the people who fought to save its beauty." That crash cost the lives of three persons and 2 more are still critically injured. Cheers!

Some years ago I read of a California Highway Patrol report that stated that half of all fatal accidents involve drinking drivers. Think of that! That is half of the "fatal" accidents alone. We can only wonder how many other accidents it causes that are not fatal. Such is always the fruit of alcoholic drink. There is absolutely no good that is derived from drinking that "slop"! How many homes have known divorce because of it? How many children have been beaten because father and/or mother were too drunk to know what they were doing? How many innocent people are killed on our highways because some well-respected, high-class citizen, social-drinking drunk was driving. The use of such is a tool of the devil to ensnare and trap the minds of both old and young into all kinds of sins. Solomon, a long time ago, said: "Wine is a mocker, strong drink is raging: and whosoever is deceived thereby is not wise." (Proverbs 20:1). And again, "Who hath woe? who hath sorrow? who hath contentions? who hath babbling? who hath wounds without cause? who hath redness of eyes? They that tarry long at the wine? they that go to seek mixed wine. Look not thou upon the wine when it is red, when it giveth his color in the cup, when it moveth itself aright. At the last it biteth like a serpent, and stingeth like an adder. Thine eyes shall behold strange women, and thine heart shall utter perverse things. Yea, thou shalt be as he that lieth down in the midst of the sea, or as he that lieth upon the top of a mast. They have stricken me, shalt thou say, and I was not sick; they have beaten me, and I felt it not: when shall I awake? I will seek it yet again." (Proverbs 23:29-35). Could a description of the results of alcoholic consumption be more apt. I think not!

Let us not be beguiled by the smooth and fair speech of the liquor industry. See it for what it is.

— 6724 Steiner Dr., Sacramento, Calif. 95823