Who Beer Is For

Proverbs Daily is a reader-supported publication. All posts are free, but all donations help spread the message. When you see the word “upgrade,” you’re simply invited to help me make the sacred positively contagious…thank you in advance for becoming a free or paid subscriber.Proverbs 31:6“Give strong drink to him who is perishing, and wine to those who are bitter of heart.”Human beings have been brewing beer for thousands of years. Long before modern bars. Long before commercials. The ancient Sumerians even had a goddess of beer.Think about that.We’ve always had a way of making something sacred that helps us take the edge off.Then Proverbs 31:6 says something that almost sounds shocking:“Alcohol is for the dying, and wine for those in bitter distress.” (NLT)Wait… Did the Bible really just say that?Yes. But notice who it’s talking about. People who are perishing. People crushed by grief. People trying to escape unbearable pain.Now back up one verse. Lemuel’s mother tells the king, “Not you.”Because people are depending on your clarity.This isn’t really a conversation about beer. It’s a conversation about numbing.We’ve all got our drug of choice. For some it’s alcohol. For others it’s scrolling. Shopping. Working. Eating. Staying busy. Anything that helps us avoid feeling what we’re feeling.Because sometimes life leads us to a cave we don’t want to enter. A hard conversation. A painful memory. A frightening decision.And if we have to walk into that cave… we’d rather go in numb and just get through it.But Proverbs quietly asks, can you afford to lose your clarity right now?Not because your pain isn’t real. It is. Not because your heart doesn’t deserve compassion. It does.But because what waits on the other side of that cave is healing… and numbness never walks you there.The answer to a heavy heart isn’t pretending it doesn’t hurt. It’s refusing to face it alone.Grace doesn’t always remove the cave. Sometimes it simply takes your hand and walks in with you.🔥 REMEMBERNumbness postpones healing. Courage walks through the cave.🙏🏽 PRAYERLord, give me courage to feel what needs healing today.🎯 TODAY’S CHALLENGENotice what you instinctively reach for when stress or sadness hits today. Before reaching for it, spend five quiet minutes talking honestly with God or a trusted friend about what you’re actually feeling.About the AuthorFred Lynch is a creative communicator, author, and Christian Hip Hop pioneer. To learn more about Fred and what he’s up to now…click here or you can find him in all the socials by searching the handle: heyfredlynch📱 Experience Proverbs Daily by Subscribing!Ready to receive daily wisdom directly on your phone?Go to proverbsdaily.org for the app or just click that Subscribe button right now! Get full access to Hey Fred Lynch! at heyfredlynch.substack.com/subscribe