by Rev. Mark Creech, D.H.L
RevMarkCreech.org
It isn’t every day that animal control officers have to carry a raccoon out of a liquor store on something that resembles the animal version of a “sober ride home,” but that’s precisely what happened in Ashland, Virginia. According to Newsweek, the mischievous creature crashed through the store’s ceiling, knocked over fourteen bottles of liquor, and was eventually discovered sprawled out on the bathroom floor, apparently overcome by his own “holiday spirits.”
Officials described the episode as a “liquor-fueled rampage,” and the photos confirm it: broken bottles everywhere, liquor pooling on the floor, and a raccoon passed out and lying next to a toilet as if repenting of his life choices. Social media lit up with jokes. One commenter begged the authorities to “get this raccoon a sponsor.” Another said he was “trying to get into the holiday spirit.”
It was all very humorous, and perhaps such moments of levity are opportunities to think more deeply. Because the raccoon’s condition, though laughable, can also be instructive. If even a woodland creature can drink himself into a stupor, what about what alcohol can do to human beings – creatures made in God’s own image – creatures endowed with reason, accountability, and immortal souls?
Unlike that raccoon, our intoxication often comes with consequences far more serious than $250 worth of broken liquor bottles and a hangover the next day.
The weeks surrounding Christmas and New Year’s are among the most dangerous of the year when it comes to alcohol-related harms. Nearly 40 percent of all traffic fatalities (think about that number carefully) during this period involve impaired drivers – 40 percent! Emergency rooms brace for predictable spikes in alcohol poisoning, domestic violence, falls, fights, and tragic mishaps that rarely make the news.
The culture treats these things as clichés, punchlines, or unfortunate inevitabilities, but Scripture does not.
The Bible consistently warns that alcohol’s deceptive pull leads to sorrow, shame, and foolishness.
“Wine is a mocker, strong drink is raging: and whoever is deceived by it is not wise.” (Proverbs 20:1)
Proverbs 23 paints an unflinching portrait of the drunkard with his bloodshot eyes, staggering steps, confused speech, and bruises he cannot explain. Isaiah describes leaders whose judgment collapses as wine clouds their vision. Noah and Lot – both men whom the Bible describes as having stature – disgraced themselves and their families by intoxication.
The message is unmistakable: alcohol may promise cheer, but it often delivers chaos.
Many believers sincerely hold that Scripture permits responsible, moderate social drinking. They emphasize self-control, gratitude, and restraint, and they reject drunkenness entirely. Their position has some biblical support, and it is not my purpose to disparage them.
Nevertheless, I do want to appeal to all Christians, whether moderate drinkers or abstainers, to consider this question with fresh seriousness:
Is alcohol really worth the risk?
Especially in a season already marked by heightened temptation, lowered inhibitions, and increased danger?
Even moderate drinkers acknowledge that problematic booze issues start with the first drink. It progresses by degree, not by category. Alcohol has a way of turning moments into misjudgments, and misjudgments into misconduct. Even responsible drinkers recognize that alcohol gently lowers inhibitions, opening the door to words and behaviors they would not have entertained – or permitted – had they remained completely alcohol-free. The very nature of alcohol is to erode vigilance.
In a holiday season with elevated societal risks, the wisest path may well be the simplest:
For those who already abstain, this season affirms the prudence of that conviction. For those who drink moderately, perhaps this year could be an opportunity – a spiritual fast of sorts – to choose clarity over cloudedness, influence over indulgence, and witness over worldliness.
Not because a sip of alcohol is necessarily a sin. But because abstinence removes every risk associated with alcohol – every single one of them. No one has ever ruined a family gathering, wrecked a car, or caused someone to stumble in life by saying, “Thank you so much for your hospitality, but no thank you.”
Imagine a holiday season where every driver is sober, every parent fully present, every conversation remembered clearly, every gathering safe, and every decision sound – a Christmas where joy is not obscured or endangered by alcoholic “spirits” but instead anchored in the peace Christ gives.
According to authorities, after sobering up and receiving a clean bill of health, the raccoon was released back into the wild, presumably never to literally “drop in for a drink” again. Humans, however, are not always so prudent, nor do they always rebound so easily. Our choices carry weight. They shape our reputations, our relationships, and sometimes the remainder of our lives.
This Christmas, let’s take the raccoon’s misadventure as a humorous but heartfelt reminder. Drunkenness makes fools of us all, and alcohol’s perils are magnified during the Christmas season. Even for moderate drinkers, abstinence – especially now – is unquestionably the wisest, safest, and most loving choice.
We should choose joy without jeopardy, celebration without inebriation, and memories without regret. We should walk in the clarity that Christ gives – the lucidity of a temperate mind that sees more clearly, chooses more wisely, and loves more faithfully.
If the raccoon has learned his lesson, there’s the possibility some of us might, too.
