Charcter: Being Sober Minded

I have noticed something in passing here of late. Many friends, some acquaintances, have a new found love with wine. They show off their evening class of red wine, and their feet up. Or they host a social, and the main course is wine/beer. And this has not felt right to me. It has troubled me...

A little back story.

My parents divorced when I was my son's age (2 1/2). My daddy never drank, and not until I was a teenager, young adult do I recall him twice having a beer. My mom and dad did drink: in the evenings, socially, on the weekend. Them and their friends.  In fact, I became a mini bartender, mixing their drinks for them.

So, no surprise, I turn 21 and I started to drink. For me it was mainly socially when I went out dancing. But occasionally it was a glass of wine in the evening. After I called off my engagement/wedding, my best friend's solution was to have a weekend of partying. After that, anytime I had even just one drink I would get sick. So I basically stopped, but every now and then I would try another drink, to end up sick again.

Fast forward to July of 2008, I am living in Pasadena, TX and a friend from college is in town, having spent several months on an oil rig. Her and I meet up for some Tex-Mex and margaritas. Again I get sick. Then that Sunday my Assistant Pastor preached, in the evening service, on drinking. I felt convicted that God was telling me I was to not drink. And I have not to this day.

God prepared me to be the wife of the man I love dearly. My husband has never had a drink, he felt from a young age that he was to not touch the stuff, and so he does not. And if I had been a drinker when I met him, well we would have only met, and there would probably not be an Abigail or a Stone.

I full-heartedly believe that were I to drink alcohol it would be a sin for me. Many friends of mine do not have this conviction, but others do. And honestly, the consumption of alcohol is a hot topic issue in the Christian community.

There seems to be two schools of thought on the topic:

• Drinking is a sin, and Christian's must not do it.
• Consumption in moderation is perfectly fine.

I did a survey on faith and drinking habits, and only a handful of people responded. But the answers mimicked the two schools of thoughts.

Overall, I think it is both. I believe, for individuals like myself, it is a sin to drink. I have had that conviction almost 9 years later, and it has not waned at all. And I know many who are of the clergy who as leaders of congregations publicly have vowed to abstain as an example for their flock. I know that to be employed by my church there is a morals portion of the employment contract where you promise to not drink, publicly or privately.

If you feel convicted by the Holy Sprit to not drink, that is what you must do. To ignore the promptings of the Holy Spirit would be direct disobedience to God.

Now, if you do not have that conviction, then you are free to drink.

But, the question is, should you?

In the NIV translation,

 1 Corinthians 10:32 states:

Do not cause anyone to stumble, whether Jews, Greeks or the church of God—

You might be able to control who you are under the influence, but what we must remember is that our actions effect not only ourselves. Every choice we makes has consequences (good and bad) for others.

What if you are the only example of Christianity someone sees? And what if they see you drink, as a professing Christian, and decide for themselves that it is fine for them to drink, even though they have a family history of alcohol dependency? If you as a Christian do fine with drinking, they might think the same for them? Or what if someone is on the cusp of being a believer, and they see your Facebook page with you partying it up every Saturday evening, and your tagged location Sunday morning is church? They might be a bit confused.

Throughout the New Testament there are verses on drinking (Ephesians 5:18, 1 Peter 5:8, 1 Timothy 3:8, and many more), and Proverbs and Isaiah have a few things to say on the matter too. But my number one argument for believers who do drink is the following:

Romans 12:2 (ESV)

Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.

 

A follow up verse is Romans 14:21 (ESV)

It is good not to eat meat or drink wine or do anything that causes your brother to stumble.

 

As a believer and follower of Christ we are to be set apart from the world and show the world that we are different because Christ lives in us. As a believer there should be a marked difference in how we live. And if there isn't, well friend, evaluate your life, humble yourself and evaluate if you are a child of the King of kings.

So while I think that drinking comes down to a personal choice, I believe if you profess Christ, whether it be a sin to you or not, you should not drink. Remember the Prodigal Son, upon his return he acknowledged:

Luke 15: 17 & 18

“But when he came to himself, he said, ‘How many of my father's hired servants have more than enough bread, but I perish here with hunger! I will arise and go to my father, and I will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you."

Our actions effect not just us. If we sin, others are effected, some people for whom we will never know. But take heart, it is not just our sins that effect others, our obedience to God effects others. Think of every choice you have as a drop falling into a pool of water, there are ripples. Good or bad, the ripples move out from us. So, by choosing to abstain from alcohol, in obedience to the Holy Spirit or due to the commands in Romans 12 & 14, there will be consequences, in the positive in the lives of those around you.