"Righteousness exalteth a nation: but sin a reproach to any people." Prov. 14:34
The chief thing that is destroying the welfare of Canadians is alcohol. This is the socially acceptable killer in our nation, as in most nations of the world.
here's an interesting but sad report in article from the Huffington post: "You might not be able to tell from all those beer commercials, but on a global scale, people are actually abstaining from alcohol. Even if the rest of the world isn't downing pints, however, Canadians seem to be drinking on their behalf."
A new study by the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH), found Canadians drink more than 50 per cent above the global average. And it's no time to be imbibing — alcohol is now the third leading cause of the global burden of disease and injury.
There are few homes or families that are not directly or indirectly impacted by this longterm and deep seated problem of the bottle. It is the fear of every parent and the slave-master of millions who cannot kick the habit of consuming hard liquor. I think that every right-minded and every caring Canadian, whether a Christian or not, ought to loathe the curse of alcohol in our land. I have to admit that I have come to hate alcohol and all the more so, the older I become. I thank God for delivering me from this terrible evil.  I am reminded when I see a drunk in his stupor of mind and folly, that there go I but for the grace of God.  
[1] I hate the use of alcohol when I learn statistics for ER admissions.  It is the cause of miseries untold and its the number one reason for hospital admissions and the accelaration of diseases of the body.  It truly is a killer. In most ERs on weekends and nighttime you can find drunks who have been in fights, had falls or accidents while driving under the influence. There's a reason that our police forces are out on the roads doing checks for people driving under the influence. Even one or two drinks is enough to impair judgment. In any accident investigation alcohol is the number one suspect.  Thousands of deaths take place on our roads each year due to this evil, and often it is the innocent driver, or pedestrian who is killed by the drunk driver.  It has been calculated that up to 60% of hospital admissions are alcohol related.
Statistics Canada reported: "In 2016, 19.0% of Canadians aged 12 and older (roughly 5.8 million people) reported alcohol consumption that classified them as heavy drinkers.Note The proportion aged 12 and older who reported alcohol consumption that classified them as heavy drinkers remained stable between 2015 and 2016.Note
Overall, males were more likely (23.8%) to report heavy drinking than females (14.2%) in 2016.
The highest proportion of heavy drinking for both sexes was among those aged 18 to 34. In this age group, 34.4% of males and 23.4% of females were heavy drinkers.
[2] I hate the use of alcohol when I learn Noah fell into immorality.
Noah, that man whom God used to save his family from the flood by building an ark. Very quickly afterward he planted a vineyard and due to drunkenness was guilty of ludeness which led to immorality.  
Gen 9:18  And the sons of Noah, that went forth of the ark, were Shem, and Ham, and Japheth: and Ham is the father of Canaan. 
Gen 9:19  These are the three sons of Noah: and of them was the whole earth overspread. 
Gen 9:20  And Noah began to be an husbandman, and he planted a vineyard: 
Gen 9:21  And he drank of the wine, and was drunken; and he was uncovered within his tent. 
Gen 9:22  And Ham, the father of Canaan, saw the nakedness of his father, and told his two brethren without. 
Gen 9:23  And Shem and Japheth took a garment, and laid it upon both their shoulders, and went backward, and covered the nakedness of their father; and their faces were backward, and they saw not their father's nakedness. 
Gen 9:24  And Noah awoke from his wine, and knew what his younger son had done unto him. 
Gen 9:25  And he said, Cursed be Canaan; a servant of servants shall he be unto his brethren. 
This record should be a red flag to all who consider drinking alcohol. If this can happen to the godly man Noah, what might it do to me.  If the sons of Noah are shamed and brought under a curse due to the results of alcohol, there is no place for it my life. These shameful things which are blots on the very best of men in the Bible are not washed over in the Bible. They are beacons to warn us to cease and desist; to run from this terrible degenerating evil.
I can think of no incident where people as families or societies have been lift upward through strong drink. It is the devil's tool to destroy. It is never the God's way to lead people into blessing.  
[3] I hate the use of alcohol when I learn how Lot fell into immorality:
Gen 19:30  And Lot went up out of Zoar, and dwelt in the mountain, and his two daughters with him; for he feared to dwell in Zoar: and he dwelt in a cave, he and his two daughters. 
Gen 19:31  And the firstborn said unto the younger, Our father is old, and there is not a man in the earth to come in unto us after the manner of all the earth: 
Gen 19:32  Come, let us make our father drink wine, and we will lie with him, that we may preserve seed of our father. 
Gen 19:33  And they made their father drink wine that night: and the firstborn went in, and lay with her father; and he perceived not when she lay down, nor when she arose. 
Gen 19:34  And it came to pass on the morrow, that the firstborn said unto the younger, Behold, I lay yesternight with my father: let us make him drink wine this night also; and go thou in, and lie with him, that we may preserve seed of our father. 
Gen 19:35  And they made their father drink wine that night also: and the younger arose, and lay with him; and he perceived not when she lay down, nor when she arose. 
Gen 19:36  Thus were both the daughters of Lot with child by their father. 
Gen 19:37  And the firstborn bare a son, and called his name Moab: the same is the father of the Moabites unto this day.  Lot's daugher's
[4] I hate the use of alcohol when I learn how Nadab and Abihu, who offered strange fire to the Lord were also under the influence of drinking in the midst of false worship.  We know this was was the reason of their sudden judgment, as, immediately afterwards, the use of alcohol was forbidden to Levites. 
Solomon the wisest man who ever lived warned in his proverbs of the evils and addictive powers of alcohol
Pro 23:29  Who hath woe? who hath sorrow? who hath contentions? who hath babbling? who hath wounds without cause? who hath redness of eyes? 
Pro 23:30  They that tarry long at the wine; they that go to seek mixed wine. 
Pro 23:31  Look not thou upon the wine when it is red, when it giveth his colour in the cup, when it moveth itself aright. 
Pro 23:32  At the last it biteth like a serpent, and stingeth like an adder. 
Pro 23:33  Thine eyes shall behold strange women, and thine heart shall utter perverse things. 
Pro 23:34  Yea, thou shalt be as he that lieth down in the midst of the sea, or as he that lieth upon the top of a mast. 
Pro 23:35  They have stricken me, shalt thou say, and I was not sick; they have beaten me, and I felt it not: when shall I awake? I will seek it yet again. 
The Lord Jesus was called a wine-bibber, which was not true but if it had been true it would be considered a great moral evil.
[5] I hate the use of alcohol when I witness its effects on society.
The long-term effects of alcoholism are similar to those experienced with other drugs. When alcohol is consumed on a moderate level, individuals may run the risk of developing liver disease, pancreatitis, and esophageal and oropharyngeal cancers. Alcoholism can also result in cardiovascular problems. These risks are increased when the patient stops drinking and begins to experience withdrawal symptoms. The symptoms could be severe, and in some cases could result in death.
People who consume excessive amounts of alcohol will also have an increased risk of developing arthritis, cancer, heart disease, hyper- and hypoglycemia, kidney disease, obesity, nervous disorders, psychological disturbances and malnutrition.
Although some of the health problems associated with alcoholism are, unfortunately, irreversible, there is still time to get help before you see your good health slip away..
Social Effects
Aside from the many health effects caused by drinking alcohol in excess, people struggling with alcoholism will also suffer negative social effects due to the disorder. They may begin to withdraw from positive relationships with family and friends and replace these with a new social circle that consists of other people with similar addiction issues.
Interactions at work often become strained – if the patient can function well enough to continue coming into work; most lose their jobs early on in the development of alcoholism and few manage to find another job or hold onto it for very long if they do.
Maintaining a meaningful partnership or romantic relationship becomes almost impossible and interactions with children fall to the wayside. Most people with alcoholism will experience major changes in their marriage and need therapeutic help if the marriage is to be saved. The well spouse may leave or demand divorce unless the alcoholic receives treatment. If children are involved, the addict may no longer be a part of their lives. In general, alcoholism is an isolating disorder, worsening as the patient loses close connections to everyone outside of their addiction world.

Emotional and Mental Effects

Alcoholism poses a threat to every aspect of the addict’s life, and their mental and emotional well-being is no exception. Many alcoholics experience unexplained mood swings, anxiety, severe depression, suicidal thoughts and tendencies, angry outbursts and/or acts of violence. All of these things are caused by the changes that occur in the brain due to chronic alcohol abuse, according to the National Institutes of Health. Because of the emotional issues surrounding the development of alcohol abuse and addiction, a number of other residual negative consequences can crop up for those prior to recovery.
These include:
  • Financial problems. Medical issues, losing one’s job, and being unable to pay bills can lead to massive financial problems. Bankruptcy, foreclosure, unemployment and homelessness are often the results of untreated alcoholism.
  • Legal issues. Extreme mood swings can mean violent outbursts and poor decision-making, and these choices, in turn, can mean problems with the law. Arrests for driving under the influence, assault, and drunk in public charges are not uncommon.
  • Lost reputation. Though many living with an active addiction believe that their issues with alcohol are secret, it doesn’t take long for others in the community to identify alcoholic patients by their addiction only and isolate them socially.
  • Lost opportunities. The lost opportunities are almost limitless when alcoholism is an issue. How many raises, career opportunities, learning opportunities, new relationships, trips and other opportunities might a patient experience if he or she were not absorbed entirely by drinking?
[6] I hate the use of alcohol when I study the alcohol industry. 
I see their false advertising, with rich people in full health and always enjoying life.  It is a lie. Misery is in every bottle. They get rich on the backs of the vulnerable and the foolish.  If alcohol kills people, then they who make it and distribute for profit are living off the gain of murder. The whole alcohol trade is despicable. Our government has gotten into the business too and not it is being sold in our grocery stores.  If gospel and rescue work calling people out of vice and misery is the Lord's work, then the liquor trade is the devil's work, and liquor traders are the devil's agents. They will reap an awful harvest. In times of revival pubs are closed and the barrels of booze are emptied down the gutters of the streets.  Those who pedal it repent and seek wholesome employment.
Remember that the alcohol content is much higher today than ever before. The invention of distilling has increased the alcohol level many times over.  Distilleries are the name for the modern factories that make alcohol. With their science and tricks of the trade they make their lackey consumers more thirsty for beer and hard liquor. The next time you watch sports, count the ads and see how they associate beer with good times but only with drinking their beer. Yet, if a hockey player was to turn to alcohol his manager would ball him out. Alcohol will not an athlete make, it makes dupes and sodden fools who are made slaves to intoxicating themselves. 
There is great waste in the production of beer, wine and strong drink.  Thousands and millions of acres in Canada are devoted to growing produce of grapes, grain hops and other produce for the making of alcohol. Truck and train loads of the bountiful harvest of this country go to the liquor trade.  Those acres could be producing food for the nations or increase the GDP of this nation.  And, if the total sum spent on alcohol in Canada within a calendar year was put toward feeding the hungry and housing the poor we would have a country to be very proud of. Plus, think on this, if the booze industry was shut down multitudes now out of work, in ill health and living on the streets would be saved from such ruin.  Our hospitals would be freed up as the health of the whole nation would improve.
I  wish I could point to a society on earth that is totally free from the sale of hard liquor, but I can't.  Russia is infamous for its Vodka, Scotland for its whiskey, Germany for beer and  France and Italy for wine.   This is a world-wide problem. It defies physcologists on how to end it. The first step would be to take the money out of it.  
I'd rather serve a cup of cold water in Jesus' name than serve alcohol, which is the devil's buttermilk.  Its time that we resurrected the tee-totaller's club again and worked for abstinance. "The teetotalism movement was first started in Preston, England, in the early 19th century.[1] The Preston Temperance Society was founded in 1833 by Joseph Livesey, who was to become a leader of the temperance movement and the author of The Pledge: "We agree to abstain from all liquors of an intoxicating quality whether ale, porter, wine or ardent spirits, except as medicine"  (Wikipedia). If we love our country, its people and the souls of men we will labour tirelessly to put an end to the liquor trade.
[7] I hate the use of alcohol when I see what it has done to First Nations people in Canada.  
Any caring and right thinking man or women would wish that the FN people had never been introduced to their "fire water" as it was called. Wicked men traded with the First Nations people to weaken and to destroy them. The sale of alcohol to FN people was at times banned, but its powers of addiction had already destroyed their peoples. The power of alcohol took such a grip on their minds and lives, that many became dysfunctional. Their enslavement to booze seemed satanic.  It caused fighting, murders, and decimation of tribes. It left a legacy of social, domestic and suicide problems, leaving orphans and families torn apart.  A great degree of the high rate of crime and imprisonment among FN people is due to alcohol. Our governments should be apologizing for ever selling liquor to them. It is the evil of all evils among FN people in Canada.  We should be ashamed that they were ever introduced to strong drink, and today we should do all we can to stop their dependence on alcohol consumption for these are people who need help to raise families, build homes and train to serve this nation, which many do especially when they are delivered from the evils of alcohol and other addictions. 
Praise God there are testimonies of FN people who have been delivered from the bondage of alcohol.  I talked with one recently who frequented the bars of Surrey and Vancouver, but told me it was killing him and through his new found love for the Lord Jesus was fearful of ever returning to those places and to the bottle. 
We learn through such testimonies that the gospel is the hope of people with addictions.  The Lord Jesus Christ has the power to set me free from such bondage.  The blood of Jesus was shed to cleanse from all sin and break the power of addictions. We understand that these are physical addictions that need time and methods to free people from them, but the Lord gives the will to do and the power to go through with whatever it takes to set men free.  
If you are in such bondage you need to call on the Lord to save you and break the power of alcohol in your life.  I would that men would go on every reserve in Canada and preach the gospel to FN people in order to see them delivered from the curse of alcohol that has done deathly harm and is still a curse in domestic life.   Join with me in praying for these people to be blessed with the truth of the gospel and the liberty that Jesus brings to souls who trust in Him for salvation.  
[8] I hate the use of alcohol when I see how it becomes the devil's tool to lead multitudes into drug abuse.  When people become dependent on booze and hard liquor they are pre-conditioned to seek the greater power of hard drugs. In most cases the use of drugs is preceded by the use or abuse of alcohol.  People commence with alcohol because of the peer pressure in youth and the social pressure in parties.  The use of alcohol at gatherings and social events is so prevalent that it is perpetual pressure to conform to the social norms of drinking.  Then, when that line is crossed and a young man or woman goes along a path that makes it normal then the next step to drug use.  To smoke pot, or take a pill that gives a great high than alcohol can give becomes the obvious choice to the unthinking.  Before long that first drink leads to the breaking down the barrier to a life of addiction of various kinds. Hard drinking is never far away from hard drugs. The cycle from sobriety to alcohol use, pot use, popping narcotic pills soon leads to shooting up and hard chemical drugs that kill.  Who can deny the link between alcohol use and drug abuse.  With the hundreds and thousands that are dying in our nation each year due to drug overdose, we need to stem the tide of addiction, and we need to begin with alcoholism.
[9] I hate the use of alcohol when I see how it works contrary to the Fruit of the Spirit in a Christian's life.
Gal 5:19  Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, 
Gal 5:20  Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, 
Gal 5:21  Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God. 
Gal 5:22  But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, 
Gal 5:23  Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law. 
Gal 5:24  And they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts. 
Gal 5:25  If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. 
For this reason Christianity has denounced the use of alcohol and called God's people to pour it down the drain. Don't even keep it in your home to be a temptation to yourself or to your children. Don't give anyone the example of drinking wine for may not destroy you, but it may well destroy the lives souls of others.In our families and in our church there will be people who struggle with addictions.
[10] I hate the use of alcohol when I see the many fine alternate beverages in our food stores and they are mocked by social drinkers as well as heavy consumers of alcohol.  Those who choose to abstain from alcohol are also mocked, even in some church circles.  I'm glad I serve in a church where the use of alcohol is preached against, prayed against and the godly who seek to live alcohol free are encouraged. 
We are to take the apostle Paul's advice in Eph. 5:18.  We need to live a Spirit filled life. 
(Updated Jan. 16, 2018)