The other day, a mother called and wanted my advice on how to handle the question her 18-year-old son confronted her with. He wanted to know what was so wrong about going to a bar and having a few drinks. He said that the Bible doesn’t condemn drinking; it only calls drunkenness a sin.

Her question to me was, “How do I handle that?” I told her that the good news was he talked to her about it. I shared that alcohol is a drug – a legal drug – but it is against the law for anyone under 21. I also shared that alcohol is sometimes the gateway to other illegal drugs.

I’ve heard and personally experienced that alcohol is cunning, baffling and powerful.

I read her the following which was written several years ago by an inmate in a Joliet, Ill., prison:

THE BAR

The name of each saloon’s a Bar,

The fittest of its names by far.

A Bar to Heaven, a door to Hell,

Whoever named it named it well.

A Bar to manliness and wealth,

A door to want and broken health;

A Bar to honor, pride and fame,

A door to grief and sin and shame;

A Bar to hope, a Bar to Prayer,

A door to darkness and despair;

A Bar to honored useful life,

A door to brawling, senseless strife;

A Bar to all that’s true and brave,

A door to every drunkard’s grave;

A Bar to joys that home imparts,

A door to tears and aching hearts;

A Bar to Heaven, a door to Hell,

Whoever named it named it well.

If you have any questions or comments, please write to Get High on Life, P.O. Drawer U, Reserve, LA 70084, call (985) 652-8477, or e-mail: hkeller@comcast.net.