Article March 3, 1997 Issue

A healing answer to alcoholism

R. David Robert

Though the harmfulness of alcohol is widely understood, many people become victims of it. Many others believe that they can achieve social status by drinking alcohol.

Yet is some liquid really capable of conveying joy and peace? Do addictive or intoxicating substances give happiness and satisfaction? Do they bestow relief from sorrow and sickness, worry and strife? No, never! There is no benefit to be gained from even the most sparing use of alcohol. "Whatever intoxicates a man, stultifies and causes him to degenerate physically and morally. Strong drink is unquestionably an evil, and evil cannot be used temperately: its slightest use is abuse; hence the only temperance is total abstinence," writes Mary Baker Eddy in Miscellaneous Writings (pp. 288–289).

The government in my state, Andhra Pradesh, in India, implemented a complete prohibition against alcohol. Many have expressed their happiness over this, yet it is not a permanent solution. For a lasting answer to alcoholism we cannot do better than look to God, Spirit. God's law of harmony, which is ever operative and supreme, blesses man with true happiness. An understanding of divine Love frees us relying on stimulants or trusting in matter for satisfaction and happiness, and leads us to find peace and fulfillment in God's care.

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