| Answer
from Jesus:
And I am projecting that
love back to you—multiplied.
I am aware that scientific studies have shown that drinking red wine
can help prevent heart disease. Yet did these studies examine the negative
effects that drinking large amounts of alcohol has on other aspects
of the body?
There are many plants on Earth that are literally put here by God for
the sake of being used as medicine. Human beings would do well to use
natural remedies to cure diseases and to put a stop to the greed of
the pharmaceutical industry.
My point is that there are chemicals in red grapes that have beneficial
health effects. The problem is that in order to reap these benefits,
you must take in great quantities of red grapes. If you take in such
large quantities through wine, the alcohol will have negative health
effects. It might also lead to addiction, and it will certainly have
a negative effect on your spiritual faculties. Therefore, I strongly
recommend that people either eat raw grapes, raisins or drink grape
juice.
I am aware that certain people have always had a desire for alcohol,
and they are always looking for a way to justify indulging this desire.
It is a general human tendency that people look for a justification
for doing what they desire to do. Such people will use these scientific
studies as a justification for drinking red wine.
My advice is that if you have a desire to drink wine, you should acknowledge
that desire instead of seeking to camouflage it by saying that you are
only drinking because of the health benefits. When you have acknowledged
a desire for alcohol, you can begin to make intelligent choices concerning
that desire.
You have the option of recognizing that many desires are not your own.
They are projected into your mind and desire body by the forces of this
world, and in many cases this is done with impure motives. I can assure
you that alcohol was not put on this planet by God. Contrary to the
claims made by some people, alcohol can never enhance your spiritual
growth. In fact, even small amounts of alcohol will dull your spiritual
faculties. It will decrease your intuition and make it much more difficult
for you to obtain spiritual insights and visions.
Therefore, a sincere spiritual seeker would be well-advised to abstain
from all alcohol. This even applies to the serving of wine during communion.
In previous ages, it was not possible to preserve grape juice outside
of the regular season. Therefore, wine was the only practical way to
accomplish this. In today's age, technology has made it possible to
serve grape juice at any time of the year, and there is no more any
reason to use wine during communion.
I am not hereby saying that everyone should abstain from alcohol. Many
people have a desire to experience the things of this world, including
good food accompanied by wine. This can be a legitimate soul desire.
Yet I must tell you that a soul desire never leads to addiction. No
one has a soul desire for getting drunk and waking up with a headache
or for wasting their lives on addictions. Therefore, if you are drinking
wine out of a soul desire, you will do so in moderation.
Once you cross the subtle line between enjoying alcohol and being addicted
to alcohol, you can be certain that you are no longer following a true
soul desire. Instead, your soul is being exploited by the forces of
this world who are seeking to prevent your spiritual growth.
A true soul desire is a satiable desire. It can be satisfied in the
short run by enjoying alcohol with a meal without getting drunk. And
it can be satisfied in the long run by permanently leaving behind the
desire to drink alcohol because you have now come to the realization
that maintaining sharp spiritual faculties is more important to you
than the enjoyment of sensory pleasures.
What I am saying here is that at a certain level on the soul’s
path it can be acceptable to enjoy alcohol in moderation. Yet as a soul
matures, it will naturally begin to focus more attention on the spiritual
side of life. As it does so, the soul should naturally let go of all
desires for alcohol.
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© 2003 by Kim Michaels |
