WINE IS A MOCKER
‘They also have erred through wine.’
I sin against myself when I yield to the power of wine.
You tell me that there is no reason why I should become a confirmed drunkard; that many a one who takes wine never degenerates into its vassal and prisoner; that I may find it a benefit and not a blight and a bane. But I have two answers to return to your argument.
I. One of them is that single acts of indulgence grow by imperceptible degrees into habits.—I protest that I am afraid to tamper with strong drink, lest it should have me entangled in the meshes of its net before I am aware.
II. But my second reply goes further.—One solitary surrender to the appetite, suppose that it is never repeated, is indefensible and unworthy. It is a letting slip the reins of self-control. There is in it a certain parting with personal dignity, a certain forfeiture of the sense of responsibility, a certain degradation and descent from the level on which I ought to stand. A man should always keep himself at his very best—clear, capable, resourceful. A man should always be fully prepared to take advantage of every opportunity that comes to him. But if by his own consent it is otherwise at one instant in his life, then at that instant he is guilty of sin.