Did you know that there are 240 references to wine in the Bible? (*gasp! I know!) Some of the verses are matter-of-fact remarks about food and beverages of the day. Others are about Old Testament drink offerings to the Lord (like 2 Chronicles 31:5 & Nehemiah 13:5, if you’re curious). Still other verses are quite romantic – like seven references in the poetic Song of Songs alone. As you might expect, there are also several verses that warn us not to over-indulge. What strikes me as especially interesting, though, are a handful of verses that specifically mention wine dregs.

Dregs are the gross little gritty particles that settle at the bottom of an old bottle of wine. (Think of coffee grounds – you don’t want to drink them with your morning latte!) When I think of warnings about wine or liquor, in general, the first thing that comes to my mind is to not get drunk. There are plenty of verses that remind us to stay sober, but the ones about dregs actually pertain to something completely different.

Dregs are sediment. They develop when the wine just sits there. Unused. Unpoured. Bottled up. The verses about wine dregs are warnings to us about not becoming complacent … lazy … in our faith (perhaps also with a little grittiness in our attitudes?).

The three-chapter book of Zephaniah that you’ll find tucked away among the minor prophets in the Old Testament contains a powerful message about God’s judgment of the earth in the last days. The Lord says that he will “punish those who are complacent, who are like wine left on its dregs, who think, ‘The Lord will do nothing, either good or bad’” (1:12, NIV). The chapter goes on to talk about the despair and gloom that awaits those whom God judges because they just lazed around and ignored him.

We’re in the middle of a sermon series about considering the way we think. Hopefully most of us aren’t the type to go out partying every night, but how many of us might fall into the lazy dregs category, instead? Is it enough just to not do the things we know we shouldn’t do, or do we need to get off our duffs and also do the things we know we ought to do? You and I and Zephaniah know the answer is the latter. Let’s not become complacent, lazy dregs. Let’s allow God to un-bottle our talents and pour us out to accomplish his work.