Classic KJV - Proverbs 31:4

By definition, those in leadership necessarily affect the lives of many others. Hence leaders must live by a higher standard and avoid common personal pitfalls, including the abuse of drugs and alcohol.

Avoid Despair and Escapism

The text does not condone substance abuse, but it acknowledges the plight of the struggling. It understands the temporary relief from despair in drunkenness, but also warns the aspiring king, Lemuel, to avoid it. Sadly, those who are poor often look for comfort in a bottle; they drink to forget. They escape from reality, only to return in a worse condition. Drunkenness spans the globe, yet is worse in some nations than in others. Having been born in a communist country, I’ve always had a special interest in the consequences of communism. One of its most amazing criticisms (despite Soviet efforts to cancel it) is The Persecutor by Sergi Kourdakov. He describes the hopelessness in the Soviet Union among the young, and their reliance on vodka for relief, this from the end of Chapter 13:

Vodka is the curse of Russia. It’s everywhere. We naval cadets were paid seven rubles at the end of each month and after payday we promptly headed for town and spent our money on two bottles of vodka.... The [communist] party blames vodka as the greatest cause for low production in industry... The steady flurry of directives coming from Moscow to warn us of the problem of alchoholism showed me the great menace it was in the Soviet Union. It was the number one problem of Soviet youth.

Alcoholism was the number one problem of Soviet youth, and is still killing Russian youth.

Translation: afflicted

The Hebrew word for “afflicted” here is translated as “poor” in the KJV, and it’s very similar to the word translated as “poor” by the NASB in Proverbs 14:21. The poor and needy are vulnerable, and the anxiety of this insecurity itself is a grave affliction. The honest poor need help, and they know it. Those destitute of food, clothing, and shelter most need the attention of the king.

We should never forget that the most vulnerable in any jurisdiction are the unborn babies, threatened by abortion. In North America, between 20 and 25 percent of babies are killed in their mothers’ wombs, what is supposed to be the safest place in the world. That makes abortion the Number One cause of death among the people of the West. In Soviet and post-Soviet Russia, over 60 percent of babies are aborted, magnifying their despair.

Good Authorities Serve and Protect

Those who are healthy and strong must stay alert in order to benefit others, and that includes avoiding substance abuse. The text commands the following:

• “Open your mouth” and speak up on their behalf.
• “Open your mouth,” repeated for emphasis.
• “Judge righteously,” which means investigating a needy case and helping in a discerning way.
• “Defend the rights,” which may require forceful action against a private or public aggressor.

Personal Pleasures or Human Rights

As long as there are evil aggressors, private or public, our human rights will need to be defended. The downtrodden need champions. Only those with the resources are capable of helping. And the public authorities themselves are most obliged to refrain from pursuing their private advantage, while pretending to help the oppressed. A close examination of Proverbs 29:14 underscores this point.

Our Maker, Saviour, and Friend

Jesus was the all-time champion of the poor, the afflicted, and the needy.

However... when Jesus was entering His time of greatest physical and emotional torment, He refused the offer of a pain-killer (Mark 15:23). He understood and endured excruciating pain. He is fully qualified to judge every individual on their use and abuse of their personal privilege.

Jesus said that on the Day of Judgement, “more” would be expected from those who had been entrusted with “more,” (Luke 12:48).