"...envyings, intoxications, carousings and the[things] like these, which I am forewarning you [all], just as I did forewarn you, that the [ones] practicing these [the] kingdom of God will not inherit."
-Two more social sins here (we considered envying with verse 20). These are not directed against others. Rather they are committed in concert WITH others. These are the sins of excess, of looking for fulfillment and satisfaction and comfort and joy in something other than God. Paul specifically mentions intoxications - drunken binges, and carousings - which many commentators suggest refers to the kind of drunken orgies associated at that time with the worship of Bacchus, the so-called god of wine. But Paul also makes it clear that his list is not exhaustive. There are countless ways which fleshy man has devised to find comfort and joy in something (anything!) other than his Creator. We give our hearts and give over control to so many other things - not only to alcohol or sex, but things like money or drugs or pasttimes or causes or relationships or stuff... The list is endless. The flesh, again aided and abetted by the world and the devil, never tires of trying to find something to put in God’s place, and this to an extreme. Extreme excess APART from God - and that is really the heart of the problem. Excessive exclusion of the Lord. There is nothing necessarily wrong with excess in and of itself. Scripture tells us to excel still more, to do what we do heartily and making every effort at it. But these things must not become the end in and of themselves, pursued apart from the Lord. Whether we eat or drink or whatever we do, we can and should to do everything to the glory of God, in it and through it celebrating and spreading the knowledge of His breathtaking goodness. He is in it, He is part of it, He is the end of it. It has been said that "things go better with Coke", but they for sure always go better with the Lord, when He is in the mix, INcluded. Because He is better. Truly.
-The world, and the flesh, does not roll like that, however. It excludes the Lord rather than includes Him. It does not honor Him as God, it instead worships and serves and excessively gives itself to that which is created, and generally finds God wanting and casts Him out of mind. Rather boring, more of a cosmic killjoy. Rigid. Primitive. Old school. Rather unintoxicating. Irrelevant. Out of sight and out of touch. Far more satisfying instead to find pleasure in a bottle or a bed with a real live flesh and blood person. Or pick some other arena or venue where fulfillment (albeit fleeting and phony) can be found in the company of familiar flesh. These do not stand to inherit any part of heaven, nor are they interested, quite frankly. The inexpressible joys of God’s breathtaking goodness are lost on them. And to that end, shame on the INheritors of the kingdom, the people of God (self included) who have made Him so seemingly irrelevant, boring and lifeless (look up synonyms for "mundane", which can mean either uninteresting or earthly). Innocuous. Our INtentions are good, we don't intend to exclude the Lord per se (which is the primary disinheritor according to Paul here), we don't set out to dilute the potency of His presence. We surely aspire to include Him, to honor Him in all our ways, unlike the flesh-steeped world. But sadly our worship and conduct is rather more akin to sucking on so many lemons than drinking deep life-changing draughts from a bursting, overflowing fire hydrant of Living Water. Shame on us. Shame on me. Things should not be this way. But there is another way - the way of the Spirit...! Heavenly INtoxication (remember, the early church was actually accused of being drunk). Read on!
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