A Demon on a Bridge
Late one afternoon I was traveling a road
I have ridden over many times during the past thirty-five years. Most of those
trips have been pleasant. But, on that afternoon I saw something horrifying. I
saw a demon on a bridge!
As I drove down a hill which I have both
jogged and driven up and down many times I saw a demon on a bridge. It was a
sad and heart breaking sight.
The bridge is over a beautiful little,
boulder filled creek. On one side of the bridge is the "Circle B
Ranch." Whoever named this little spot has a wonderful sense of humor. The
"Circle B Ranch" is a mobile home with a very nice porch. There are
no more than two acres of open pasture. There is also some woodland inside the
fence. On the "Circle B" there are two dogs, about six calves and
maybe a dozen goats. Just beyond the "Circle B Ranch" I saw a demon
on a bridge. It was a sickening sight.
Approaching the bridge I saw a car which
had obviously just crossed the bridge. It was stopped. Two women were standing
on the bridge looking at the damage done by the demon. In addition to those
two women there was a man on the bridge. He was lying on the pavement near the
center of the bridge. Sadly, he was totally under the control of this demon.
My first thought was that the man had been
hit by the car, possibly driven by one of those women. Instead, I found out
something far worse. The man on the bridge was under the control of a horrible
demon.
One of the women was, indeed, the driver
of the car. She had just stopped to assist the second woman. The second woman
was the wife of the demon possessed man. Her heart was breaking. Her eyes were
filled with tears because of the havoc brought to her husband and family by
this terrible demon.
As I tried to assist then the demon
possessed man tried to hit me with his fist. This demon had the man completely.
Solomon described the problem in Proverbs
23:29-35. "Who has woe? Who has sorrow? Who has contentions? Who has
complaints? Who has wounds without cause? Who has redness of eyes? Those who
linger long at the wine, Those who go in search of mixed wine. Do not look on
the wine when it is red, When it sparkles in the cup, When it swirls around
smoothly; At the last it bites like a serpent, And stings like a viper. Your
eyes will see strange things, And your heart will utter perverse things. Yes,
you will be like one who lies down in the midst of the sea, Or like one who
lies at the top of the mast, saying: They have struck me, but I was not hurt;
They have beaten me, but I did not feel it. When shall I awake, that I may seek
another drink?"
This demon causes woes and sorrows.
Solomon said, "Who has woe? Who has sorrow? Who has contentions? Who has
complaints? Who has wounds without cause? Who has redness of eyes? Those who
linger long at the wine, Those who go in search of mixed wine." (Proverbs
23:29-30.) There is the woe of many physical consequences. Drunkenness causes
liver disease, kills brain cells, weakens the heart and leads to an early
grave. While under the power of alcohol the person is mentally deranged. This
demon brings a man and his family to crumbs and rags. Drunkenness has many evil
companions: (1) sexual sins, (2) lies, (3) wrath and many others. Those under
the power of this demon are unreliable and ready to fight even their best
friend.
This demon has a wicked bite and
sting. Solomon said, "At the last it bites like a serpent, And
stings like a viper." (Proverbs 23:32.) Alcohol is an addictive drug,
very dangerous and habit forming. It destroys self-control, ruins health and
corrupts character. It enslaves multiplied millions. Alcohol weakens and
profanes our body which is the temple of the Holy Spirit. "Or do you not
know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you
have from God, and you are not your own? For you were bought at a price;
therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God's."
(I Corinthians 6:19-20.) Being possessed by this demon is both costly and
harmful. It bites and stings physically, economically, mentally, morally,
socially, and especially spiritually.
This demon causes eyes to see
strange things and hearts to utter perverseness. Solomon said,
"Your eyes will see strange things, And your heart will utter perverse
things." (Proverbs 23:33.) As I was trying to help the woman get her
husband off the bridge and back in their house he was speaking all kind of nonsense
and he even took a swing at me. His eyes were seeing staring things. His heart
was full of perverse things. No words can describe the deplorable condition of
those under the control of this demon.
This demon causes one to feel as if
he was lying in the midst of the sea. Solomon wrote, "Yes, you
will be like one who lies down in the midst of the sea, Or like one who lies at
the top of the mast, saying." (Proverbs 23:34.) Those controlled by this
demon go back and forth, unable to control themselves. In a physical sense
they do lie down in dangerous places. This demon possessed man was lying in
the middle of a bridge on a paved road. Alcoholic beverages are brewed in hell,
sold out of covetousness and consumed in sin and much misery. This demon has
damned and destroyed many precious souls.
This demon so controls that a person
seeks it again. Some of the saddest words of this text say, "They
have struck me, but I was not hurt; they have beaten me, but I did not feel it.
When shall I awake, that I may seek another drink?" (Proverbs 23:35.) I
found out that the demon possessed man lived two houses up from the bridge. A
few weeks passed after that day on the bridge and I saw the man again under the
control of the demon. He was in his own yard, lying prostrate on a bank. You
could tell the demon was controlling him. No other practice in history has
wrecked more homes and ruined more good people than this demon. A Christian can
have nothing to do with alcoholic beverages.
Drunkards will not inherit the
By Charles Box,