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Jarrod Jacobs: What Has Changed?

   As folks in Morgantown, Woodbury, and Rochester prepare to vote against alcohol sales for the second time this year, let us again put in perspective what such an election means to the citizens. I understand that before 2016, there had not been a “wet-dry” vote in Butler County since 1942. This is a span of seventy-four years where this entire county was considered “dry.” After seventy-four years, some folks thought it necessary to have a “wet-dry” vote. They got it in January of this year. It was voted down. Why is there now a need for yet another election? We spent around $30,000 of the tax-payer’s money for the January vote. Estimates say we will spend in excess of $10,000 for the upcoming vote. Why spend the extra $10,000 of tax-payer money on an election when this subject of alcohol sales has already been decided by the citizens? What has happened in the last eight months that demands this vote now? As our title says: “What has changed?”

    Has God’s word changed in the last eight months? No! In fact, it has not changed since it was completed some 2000 years ago. God’s word has consistently condemned the recreational use of alcohol since the time that the Bible was written (Prov. 23:29-35; I Pet. 4:3). God has revealed that we are not to be filled with wine, but filled with the spirit (Eph. 5:18)! This was true in the first century and in 1942. It was true eight months ago, and it is true today.

    Have the effects of alcohol changed in the eight months since the last vote? No! Alcohol still affects all organs of the body in a negative way. It always has! It affects the circulatory system, the digestive system, the central nervous system, etc. God compares alcohol to the bites of the viper or serpent and adder (Prov. 23:32). As usual, God’s comparison makes perfect sense. I say this because those who know about the effects of snake venom know that these snake’s respective venoms affect the circulatory system and the central nervous system. Thus, saying that alcohol “bites like a serpent and stings like an adder” reminds us that alcohol affects those same body systems in a negative way!  Read Proverbs 23:29-35 and see how alcohol affects the user. These facts have not changed since Solomon penned those words nearly 1000 years before Christ came into the world!

    While there are some things that have not changed over the last eight months, or since 1942, etc., what has changed is the attitude of some toward a harmful product! Some treat alcohol sales as a way to make our communities better. The facts show selling alcohol does not make us better, but worse. What is your attitude toward alcohol? Does your attitude match God’s attitude? If not, what has changed and why? Please compare your attitude with the Bible (Jas. 1:22-25). Ultimately, what matters is whether or not we are going to be submissive to what God has revealed in Scripture. Are we going to be a people that submits to what God says? What will you do on September 27th? I hope you vote in a way that matches what the Bible teaches.

-- You are invited to visit with the Caneyville church of Christ. Times of services: Sun.: 10:00 am, 10:45 am, 5:00 pm; Wed.: 7:00 pm. Website: http://caneyvillechurchofchrist.com Tune in to our radio program 101.5 FM at 5:30 am, Mon-Fri. Questions? Call: (270) 589-4167

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