When I first had heart issues and my cardiologist outlined a plan
for fighting heart disease, I was a bit surprised at some of the things he told
me. First of all, he told me to avoid certain foods, potatoes being first on
the list. Then, in the course of conversation, he mentioned that it was good I
did not drink alcohol, and told me it would be best not to start.
I had heard, through various media outlets and many individuals
the heart-friendly message concerning moderate alcohol consumption, and my
cardiologist seemed to be downplaying such findings.
Today, both in the church and outside of the church, I think we
have an alcohol problem. It seems that Christians are constantly trying to
figure out how to be more like the world while wanting to avoid the strings
attached to such behavior. For the fear of legalism, we have lowered our
standards on entertainment, have made the usage of alcohol popular, and have
some how figured out a way to make greed a good thing.
Often the Christian community turns to Scripture to justify
something they self-centeredly want to do, and therefore abdicate any personal
responsibility. Some have made drinking
a way to “relate” to a lost world. Some have made it a teaching of Jesus,
approved, admired, and even encouraged. Some could care less about
justification, and just like to drink.
I have heard some talk of alcohol in a way that Paul referred to
meat offered to idols. I personally would disagree with this comparison. Paul,
when referring to meat offered to idols often said that the meat was “nothing.”
If you take even the most conservative effects of alcohol on our culture, you
must conclude that alcohol is not “nothing.”
Perhaps like meat, alcohol has nothing to do with our salvation,
but unlike the meat, alcohol has the ability to take over the mind, or blind
the mind of the consumer. The dangers are clearly understood in the writings of
the Scriptures as the phrase “sober-minded” is used often.
Since “sober” is not clear to most, the idea of sobriety is not
clear. Therefore, each person decides what that means and does what is right in
his/her own eyes.
This may satisfy most as an honorable conclusion, yet I find this
conclusion troubling at best in that the “fruit” of alcohol usage is obviously
very dangerous. If you were to ask emergency medical personnel how many runs
they make a year due to alcohol abuse, or ask law enforcement how many alcohol-related
arrests are made each year, or medical personnel how much money is spent in our
health care system each year due to alcohol abuse, you would clearly see a
“fruit” that is not worth harvesting.
If we are to judge things by their fruit, then alcohol would not
pass the test.
Paul, when writing to his protégé Timothy, said this: “As for
you, always be sober-minded, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist,
fulfill your ministry.” (2 Timothy 4:5 ESV)
Timothy is told to “always” be sober-minded. Whoever wants to argue the
meaning of always and sober-minded can have at it, for that is what Christians
love to do….make complicated the simple. In fact, the more complicated it
becomes, the easier it is to have loopholes, exceptions, and personal
applications that allow all sorts of delusional behavior.
In a rather simple understanding of the passage, I might suggest
that Paul is telling young Timothy to always be sober-minded. This would, in
general, mean always be “serious”-minded, or always be one who is not under the
influence of alcohol, or always have your mind sharp and focused on the battle
at hand.
In any case, it is talking about always here, not sometimes,
not once in a while, not whenever you find it convenient. One who
loves God and His Word would need to at least struggle with what the “always”
actually refers to since we know, for sure, the meaning of that word.
Throughout the years in ministry, the number of people I have
counseled whose lives have been destroyed by alcohol is staggering.
You would think that those who claim that relationships are what
is most treasured would abhor anything that would potentially destroy
relationships. From my life experiences, I would say that alcohol has that
ability, and has delivered on destruction time and time again.
In fact, I would venture to say, that I personally believe that
one could not be committed to healthy relationships and the consumption of
alcohol in that the obvious affects are anti-rational.
This is not an opinion that will win me friends and allow me to
influence people, and in that you might ask how such a thought is able to make
good relationships while condemning such a widespread cultural practice.
If you look at our culture you will see all sorts of bad behavior
that people like to participate in that has been labeled acceptable or even good,
yet seem to have a negative effect on relationships.
A simple illustration of this comes from the idea of getting to
know someone by going on a date to a movie. When you go to a movie, you do not
get to know someone. You get to watch someone else’s pretend life, and
experience the emotions, feelings, and fears of those who have been watching.
It kind of feels like real life, even though it’s pretend life that you have
adopted as real. As one watches the love plot or scene on the large screen, the
emotions of that moment spill over to one loving the one with whom they are
watching the movie.
Entertainment becomes the basis on which the relationship has
been built. Hours and hours will be spent watching other people’s lives unfold
while they have no life of their own. Having no real life of our own makes the
fantasy world our realty, and, of course, alcohol helps us live out fantasies.
I was once rebuked for my “stance” on alcohol by a husband who
told me that a glass of wine was a very important part of his wife’s life. He
stated that every evening she would have a glass of wine in order to be able to
unwind and deal with the stress of life. In fact, the wine had made a huge
difference in her ability to deal with life’s issues.
This would be my point exactly. Alcohol has the ability to
replace God and His Spirit, at least on the surface. Alcohol has the ability to
fool, numb, and make us forget, just like Satan tries to do. For one to spend
time with God and expect His Spirit to comfort us seems old-fashioned and impractical.
I realize that when I express my opinion on alcohol, it is just
that, an opinion. My stance on this subject costs me much, and it would be
easier to go with the flow. However,
once again, if I think that people are important and that relationships are
important, and truly believe that alcohol has the potential to destroy both,
how can I remain silent?
Many might say that since they drink in a way that does not
affect their behavior, it is justifiable. The debate can rage as to how many
drinks it takes to affect one’s thinking, but from what I have read, it begins
affecting the mind immediately to various degrees.
We often struggle with words. At the writing of this article,
most Christians still believe that being “drunk” is something prohibited in the
Scriptures. What “drunk” means is up for debate, and the legalists will need to
draw a line as to how many drinks that actually means. It seems that the phrase
“sober-minded” in the Bible means to abstain from alcohol, whereas the word
“drunk” means “intoxicated.”
We are told to always be “sober-minded” and never to be “drunk.”
Play with that any way you like, but if you are like most, you will interpret
the words in a way that allows you to indulge in whatever point you want to make.
The trouble with that thinking is that the words actually mean something, and
few may want to actually see and apply what they mean. So often, justification
is the first rule of interpretation, sad as that may be.
It has been my experience to watch and be a student of watching a
generation grow up. I have seen that children often imitate their parents, to
excess. What I mean by that is simple. If you watch a bit of television, your
children will watch a bit more, and your grandchildren will watch a lot more.
If you are a little controlled by money, your children are a bit more
controlled by money, and your grandchildren even more so. If you drink wine
with your meals, your children will drink margaritas, and your grandchildren
may be into whiskey, or just an increased amount of whatever amount in which
you partook.
There is wisdom in one generation restraining themselves for the
sake of the next. There is wisdom in making certain that if our children are
going to follow us, to excess, that they follow things that will only draw them
closer to God and to other people.
I realize that those who already abstain from alcohol will enjoy
what I have written, and those who need to justify their usage of it and their
defense of it will continue to use the same arguments that have been passed on
from generation to generation.
It is not my intention to argue. I will not be persuaded that
alcohol has any benefit to making this life or the next better, and those who
live for the momentary pleasure in any area of life are great dangers to those
who are living for the eternal.
In fact, just recently a doctor sent me an article outlining a
medical study that had this title: “Alcohol Ups Mortality and Cancer Risk; No
Net Benefit.” This study will probably not make the headlines in that it talks
of things that our nation has chosen to ignore.
The article[1]
does not dispute the idea that a low consumption of wine may help in the
reduction of the risk of heart attacks. However, it also showed that current
alcohol consumers (72% of those studied would be considered low consumptions
drinkers) had a 51% increased risk for alcohol-related cancers (mouth,
esophagus, stomach, colorectal, liver, breast, ovary, and head and neck) a 29%
increased risk for injury, and it showed no reductions in the risk for death or
stroke among current drinkers.
In fact, it showed the risk for cancer was 38% higher in wine
drinkers than in never drinkers, 69% higher in spirit drinkers and 20% higher
in beer drinkers.
I find it interesting that there are those who are carefully
avoiding eating processed or genetically-modified foods, yet who promote the so-called
heart benefits of alcohol. It seems that alcohol is at least equally
destructive, and even more destructive in that it can ruin relationships, as
well as the physical well-being of individuals.
Alcohol seems to be the right of those who are wealthy, and a
need for the poor. It robs us of the moment, delivers excessive calories, is a
conduit for adverse health issues, and is expensive. Its ability to destroy is
far greater than its ability to deliver any positive results, yet, for some
reason, it is associated with “good times,” “special moments,” and
success. And now…Christians, too, have
begun to openly embrace the fantasy.
To me, this sounds like a grand deception.
I think I agree with an old preacher I once heard who said the
following: “Alcohol has its place, but its place is in the bottom of Hell.”
