Alcoholic beverages get a lot of positive attention on weekend commercials, but those ads do not mention the devastating consequences of alcoholism: 1) Each year alcohol kills over 100,000 Americans and costs the U.S. up to $120 billion in economic damages. 2) Alcohol is implicated in 66% of homicides, 50% of rapes, and 70% of robberies. 3) Drunk driving is the leading cause of death among young people ages 16-24. 4) Out of 13 million alcoholics in the nation, more than 3 million are under the age of 18.

Drinking alcohol is not something unique to our society. Solomon talks about the problem of drinking in the above scripture. Today, as in biblical times, alcohol destroys lives.