This statement was spoken by the first person to come through the door at Sanctuary 21 this morning.
Steven's face sported a kind of bluish glaze, only made more apparent by his alcohol induced filmy eyes. The blue glaze was more down to the severe bite of the North eastern night winds that seem to be whipping winter into cruel reality as we speak.
Steven needed food.
A night of downing litre after of litre of “White lightning” a ridiculously potent alcoholic rocket fuel that is both cheap and nasty, had left its mark etched on Steven's face and demeanour.
Sheila, one of our amazing hospitality workers, who relentlessly produce fantastic hot soup and other amazing food that they lovingly serve to people whom a good number have absolutely nothing, and are in the main hopelessly trapped in alcoholism and drug addiction, lovingly produced a bowl of steaming hot soup and a cheese and ham toastie for Steven.
He ate the food ravenously.
He needed it to dilute the effects of the alcohol.
“At least I don’t feel the cold when I’m drunk”, he said, with a kind of pleading sadness that almost shouts out, “will someone help me please”.
Steven is one of many who come in daily to be helped and to be loved and to be accepted despite how they look, feel or behave.
I could tell a thousand stories right now about the plights of these desperate people who are poor and needy and madly lost. I might even set up a new blog apart from this one to tell some of these stories because they are hidden stories of despair that reminds us that we have to step in and start rescuing these people who as that old hymn that I can barely recall says, rescue the perishing.
But sitting amongst these people on a daily basis, I see first-hand what the effects of alcohol can be. Yeah I've heard all the so called experts saying that alcoholism is a result of deeper problems and I have no doubt that is so, in some cases, but increasingly I see more and more deep problems being created as a direct result of alcoholism, particularly in the young as they get hoodwinked by societal acceptance trends into a drink culture that is both fashionable and totally acceptable.
I know this an often explosive topic.
And in no way do I wish to condemn people who drink, especially those who do so responsibly.
But the other day I met a Salvationist who said that it is time the Salvation Army changed this whole drinking regulation (or whatever it is) because lots of people do it anyway.
I'm just quoting what he said, that's not my words before I get a big response! I really don't know if that is the case.
I thought long and hard about this.
Do you want to know what I think?
Having spent a few years working directly with people trapped by alcohol, I have made the choice I would never touch it, I have done in the past, but I would never do it now.
I have made that choice not because there is a Salvation Army rule written on it. I have made that choice because I truly believe I need to demonstrate to others that God is better than alcohol.
I have seen how social drinking can easily spiral over that fine line into dependence on alcohol.
I've seen it claim lives, not only by ruining lives but to the point of it taking lives.
And I truly believe that is the essence of why the Salvation Army originally decided to promote abstinence from alcohol.
The essence of it being to help to save those dying in a raging sea of alcoholism.
I wrote recently about a guy who drank himself to death. One of our family of homeless people in our Church. I wrote about standing looking at his sad, bare coffin in the crematorium, watching as two of his alcoholic friends cried. I wrote that I vowed to fight for these guys, and I wrote how I caught the essence of the I'll fight statement by William Booth.
I think that if we didn't demonstrate that we can live our lives free from the traps that the spirit of this age would set for all of us, then we can't really call ourselves an Army?
Can we?
And I think spiritually that's it! It is an opposite spirit thing. The spirit of this age would say go on, drink; drink yourself into such a state that it blocks the pain and suffering out. But God came to give life in all its fullness so it makes utter sense to demonstrate the opposite of drinking which simply is not drinking.
The spirit of his age would say, drinking is so much fun, it's funny. How many times do we laugh when someone can’t stand up, or is puking into a bush somewhere, or lying with his face in a curry at 2am in the morning in some run down Indian restaurant following a night in the City?
I didn’t see anyone laughing when our guy died on The Street.
I don't think we need to get rid of our stand on alcohol at all.
I think it fits right into our fighting strategy in the war against Satan and his angels who comes as an angel of light and says, “Go on you've worked hard all week, you deserve To go and get blitzed, go and get drunk, it'll be great.”
I'm not an expert on alcoholism.
But I've seen it ruin the lives of many.
I know this wrankles with many, and I want to say I understand that. I know there are those who think this is archaic thinking too, and that Gary isn't cool because he makes this stand. And I would agree, I'm not cool! And I would agree that my view on this doesn't really fit in with societies views on drinking. But I've got big shoulders.
And as I sat with Steven today, and heard his sorry cry for help? And saw the desperation of his fight to be free from alcoholism?
I'm thinking in the name of Jesus? Thank God I'm not cool!
I implore you to pray for those trapped in alcoholism. It may be that someone reading this is heading that way? I pray you will turn that around.
blessings.
