1 Timothy 3:3 (ESV) — not a drunkard, not violent but gentle, not
quarrelsome, not a lover of money.
NOTE: Verse 3
continues the qualifications for an elder or pastor. Interestingly, the phrase
"drunkard" indicates a person addicted to wine, as opposed to not
drinking wine at all. There is a great debate on this subject as the quality of
the water led many people groups to use wine instead, although probably not
with the same alcoholic content. Yet, there was wine that had enough alcoholic
content to get a person drunk. The wine Jesus made for the marriage feast, at
least by the wine-taster's opinion, was more of this type. Like all things,
there should be moderation. Anything in extreme leads to a sort of gluttony.
You can probably eat too much, drink too much, play games too much, work too
much, sleep too much (Prov 6:10; 24:33), read too much, and just about anything
good can be done too much. Maybe you can't pray too much. An elder must not be
given to any addiction.
PRAYER: Father,
protect me from my flesh. I know that I can easily fall into any number of
addictions. I need you Holy Spirit's power to exercise self-control in all that
I do in life. Bring to my mind areas where I am blind to my flesh's addictions.
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