It's enough to drive a man to drink!

Probably no one knows when alcoholic beverages were first used for euphoric effects, though it might be assumed that the intoxicating properties of certain plants were discovered before that. In any case, mankind has apparently been making use of mood-altering substances for a very long time. For example, Noah was hardly off the ark when he also fell off the wagon, got tipsy on some wine, which turned into a bad time for one of his sons.

The problems associated with excessive use of alcohol are well documented, as is the tendency for those who are given to abusing it to do so, especially if they are presented with some occasion, like a party or a holiday, that invites them to "drink up!" And soon we'll see millions celebrating an annual occasion that seems for many to be little more than a good excuse to consume way more beer than is healthy; to say nothing of the kind of behavior that generally accompanies drunken parties.

Now, of course, my musings on this subject will have no more effect on the revellers than the average Sunday School teacher scolding the naughty boys on the sidewalk outside the church (not that such a thing is likely to happen these days.) Indeed, my own high school Sunday School teacher would not have had much effect on us who were in her class, mainly because none of us, as far as I recollect, had any inkling of what true Christianity was all about.

And that, simply put, is the point of today's reflection. It's one thing for citizens of a free society to decide that they have the right to celebrate a holiday with drunken parties. But, would it be possible, in the interest of common respect, to change the name to, maybe, "Irish Day," or "Green Day?" The Irish are pretty well known for loving a good glass of brew, so it would seem a more appropriate name for such a day, rather than celebrating the memory of a Christian missionary like Patrick by doing things quite contrary to anything Patrick would likely have approved of.

While there is still a lot of difference of opinion about the history of the real Patrick, patron saint of Ireland, it is agreed that he was a Christian, and devoted much of his life to either bringing Christianity to the pagan Celts, or at the very least helping the budding church in Ireland to take hold among the majority Celts. Either way, it's more than a little ironic that a day has gotten set aside to remember him, a day which is now better known by the average American for intoxicating spirits than for works of the Holy Spirit.

In a way, it's not much different from what has become of many "Christmas parties" in businesses across the country. And perhaps it simply shows how eager many of our citizens are for any reason to break from the humdrum of their everyday lives. If only more people could know the truly "intoxicating" joy of Jesus in their hearts; and that's a "high" that works equally well in every season of life and never leaves an unpleasant hangover.