Do not give your strength to women,
Proverbs 31:3-5
your ways to those who destroy kings.
It is not for kings, O Lemuel,
it is not for kings to drink wine,
or for rulers to take strong drink,
lest they drink and forget what has been decreed
and pervert the rights of all the afflicted.
His mother is not simply giving him a prohibition against debauchery and drunkness because she is against such things. No, she wants him to be a good and productive king. Specifically, she wants him to do his duty toward the afflicted, and he can’t do that if he is distracted by affairs and alcohol.
While most of us are not kings, we can all benefit from the warning that certain things can harm our effectiveness in the Kingdom of God and should therefore be avoided. If we are called to defend the rights of the afflicted, and I think we are, then what is keeping us from doing so? Perhaps we need to shed ourselves of those priorities and pleasures.
