Just An Old Drunkard


When we were here last fall, I became interested in one of the men who lives here. This man is a very talented fellow in many ways and has a nice little mountain home and a very good Christian wife. However, he was one of the worst slaves to drink that I have ever met in this community. He also had a terrible temper, and had a very determined will of his own.

Sometime in the past, a preacher had called him to account in no uncertain terms about the life he was living and wanted him to use his talents for a better cause. This did not produce the effect the minister had hoped for, but it seemed to direct his anger toward this preacher and his work.

When I would visit with him at his home or wherever we would meet in the little community, it was not unusual to smell the odor of alcohol about him. However, he would always try to hide it from me. Then when his drinking spree was over, he would tell about it and ask me if I knew when he was drinking. I always told that I did, and that I was sorry for him, as I understood only too well how the devil could use alcohol to drag one down and down to the very bottom of the gutter.

We have had a great burden for this man and his good little wife, and have asked God many times to take all desire of alcohol out of his life, and that he would surrender fully to Him.

Whenever I would talk to him about his drinking, it was always in the spirit of love and understanding. I never used any method other than kindness and through it all I would stress salvation through the blood that was shed on Calvary's Cross.

It almost makes me shudder just to look bach over a short period of time, and get a vision of this man reeling and staggering under the influence of moonshine liquor—with his old hat pulled down over one side of his head, and part of his face smeared with tobacco juice, slowly making his way up the little mountain trail home, and a sad and broken-hearted wife.

But today—how wonderful, how truly wonderful! He is a saved man, with a ringing testimony. Just recently he told me that all desire for liquor had gone, and that many times when his old drunken cronies would offer him a drink, it was a pleasure to refuse in the name of the Lord.

Just last night he told me that he wanted to do everything that was in his power for the Lord, and that he wanted to be as close to Him as possible.


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Walking Barefoot Ministries

© 2000 by Jeff Doles