Saying 16

Listen, my son, and be wise,
    and set your heart on the right path:
Do not join those who drink too much wine
    or gorge themselves on meat,
for drunkards and gluttons become poor,
    and drowsiness clothes them in rags.

Proverbs 23:19-21

Again, the father appeals for the son to be “wise”. Remember, it is a “wise” son that makes a glad father (Proverbs 1O:1). Proverbs 4:23 speaks of the necessity of one keeping his heart with all diligence. It is important to note that one is not to let his heart wander wherever society, trends, fads, or friends may lead it, for one is responsible to “guide” his heart in the way it should go. Failure to do this has been a great weakness of humanity.

The Bible has many warnings against taking up with wine and drunkenness ( cf. Isaiah 5:22; Matthew 24:48-51; Luke 21:34; Romans 13:13; Ephesians 5:18). Gluttony is also noted here as wrong, Jesus’ enemies tried to down Him by calling him a gluttonous man (Matthew 11:19). In affluent times many are guilty of both eating and drinking to excess.

It costs money to eat like a glutton and drink like a drunkard. Many have devoured and destroyed a small fortune in this way. They are also brought to poverty by not showing up for work or by not being able to hold a job. The “drowsiness” has to do with someone sleeping off his drunkenness. What our author is really trying to tell us is that this ends in a very sad life.