The Man at the Grocery Store

Let me begin by making it clear that I was a rather unusual kid growing up. While many of my friends in high school, and especially college, lived by the mantra "I have to make my own mistakes," I was more content to learn from the mistakes of others. If I can see the effects of something on someone are not desirable, why should I foolishly desire to do it?

That's not to say that I don't make mistakes, or that I don't learn from them. I've definitely made and learned from my share. Those are valuable lessons to me. Enter the man at the grocery store.

About 8:30 this morning I ventured out to try to find something to eat for breakfast at our local grocery store. I really like McDonalds' Sausage McMuffin. It consists of an English muffin (McMuffin), sausage, and a slice of cheese. I was sure that I could make one in the church kitchen for less than the dollar it costs at McDonalds, but to my surprise the best I could do was about $1.30 per sandwich. I picked up some bananas and headed for the self checkout kiosks. It was there I saw him.

He was pretty aged, whether chronologically or just by appearance I'm not sure. He was moving very slowly, and seemed as though most of the movements that he made were somewhat painful. He was struggling to feed his cash into the bill acceptor. He seemed very drowsy and hunched over like the whole of life's burdens rested on his shoulders at that very moment. I happened to glance down at what he was purchasing. It was a 24 pack of Milwaukee's Best.

Now at this point I want to make sure that you understand that I am not trying to be judgmental of this man's life. I don't know exactly what he might be experiencing right now, nor do I know what might have driven him to have the stature and presence that he had. Rather, I want to think about what is presented by this man's situation right now.

I don't drink, nor have I ever, but I can put enough clues together to see that this is a man who is likely dependent upon alcohol to keep going. How would I deduce that? Who else buys a 24 pack of beer at 8:30 on a Wednesday morning? It's not probably that he is only having "an occasional beer".

As a young man, I'm reminded of some advice that a wise man once gave his son. He tries to get his son's attention in Proverbs 23:22 by saying, "Listen to your father who begot you, and do not despise your mother when she is old." He then asks a series of questions:

"Who has woe? Who has sorrow? Who has contentions? Who has complaints? Who has wounds without cause? Who has redness of eyes?" (Proverbs 23:29 NKJV)

 

The Answer comes in the next verse:

 

"Those who linger long at the wine, Those who go in search of mixed wine."

 

I wonder how many people who go in search of "mixed wine" ever think about being like the man in the grocery store. The wise man provides an even more detailed description:

 

"At the last it bites like a serpent, And stings like a viper… 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?" (Proverbs 23:32-35)

 

Hang on that last line for a moment. "When shall I awake, that I may seek another drink?" I saw this man at 8:30 in the morning on a Wednesday! I know that these words were written to reference the "morning after", but there are obviously these same effects at the end of a long time of consumption.

 

I really feel for people like this. I'm not angry at him. I would welcome him through the doors of our building should he ever come. I would want to gently work with him, and try to find out where the hole is that he is trying to fill with booze, and try to fill it with God. I just know this: I can see enough at the end to know that I don't want to tempt the means by which he likely made it to that point. I really don't want to end up in the position of the man in the grocery store.