I have been asked to share my belief about the use of alcohol - specifically Christians and social drinking.
Beliefs are usually formed by a variety of things. As a Christian, I believe that the Scriptures are my authoritative rule of faith and conduct; that means that the Scriptures have the right to tell me what to believe and what to do.
In this instance, the Scriptures do not clearly forbid all use of alcohol. They do specifically forbid drunkenness. Drinking to the point of excess is out of the question for someone claiming the name of Christ, according to the Scriptures. So the question really is: Can a Christian drink alcohol if it is in moderation? I do NOT believe, from a Scriptural standpoint, that I can definitively say that drinking in moderation is sinful behavior. I believe the Christian is free to follow his conscience on the matter.
That said, I will share my personal perspective on the subject. To help you understand why I have come to hold the position that I do about the use of alcohol I must share some of my experience because it has influenced my perception.
My first exposure to alcohol was at about age 8. My sister had married and I was visiting their home. We had found a little lost kitten and my sister said I could keep him. A few days later, her husband had been drinking and thought it would be fun to put whiskey in the kitten's milk. The kitten, feeling no pain, chewed it's little paw off and died. My brother-in-law, again under the influence, thought it was funny and laughed and laughed...
...and I couldn't make him stop.
At age 14, I was asked to go to the rodeo by the cutest guy in our small town. He was 19 and I couldn't believe that he asked ME to go with him. He was so much older and cooler. When we got in the truck, he handed me a bottle of cheap wine. I wanted to impress him and not look like a little kid so I drank enough of it to look "cool." He drank his share, too. Then he pulled over on an dirt road and turned to me...
...and I couldn't make him stop.
At age 15, I was spending the night with my other sister. Her husband came home in the morning from a night of drinking. I could hear my sister screaming from her room downstairs. My nieces woke up and began to calmly get ready for school while listening to their mother's cries...this was not an uncommon occurrence for them. I went to the balcony and looked down into the family room. My sister's blond hair was streaked with red as her drunken husband hit her over and over again...
...and I couldn't make him stop.
At age 20, I attended my sister's funeral. I stood by her casket, looking at the bullet hole in the side of her head placed there by a gun she held in her own hand. She had everything to live for - two daughters age 17 and 12 - but she didn't want to face life with a man who loved booze more than her. Everyone had talked to her about life changes that could be made and how life could turn around...
...but we couldn't make her stop.
I had a precious little girl live with me off and on for four years. She loved her daddy so much and he loved her. All she wanted was to be able to go home and live a normal life with her daddy. Some days she could do it; but there were the other days. The days when Daddy wouldn't wake up. The days when she had to go to the neighbor's house to ask for food. I spent hours with Dad talking to him about how much his little girl needed him and he would cry and say, "I know...and I need her" but the drink just kept calling to him...
...and I couldn't make him stop.
I have visited AA meetings with friends and listened to the heartbreaking stories of broken finances, broken families and broken lives. People who were at the point that they WANTED to quit...
...but they just couldn't make it stop.
On August 9, 2010, one of my deacons was riding his motorcycle home from Sturgis along with three of his buddies. On I-29 at Little Sioux they were met by a truck driven by a very drunk 21 year old kid....
...and no one could make him stop.
If I thought these stories were isolated occurrences and anomalies I might not feel as strongly as I do. But they are not isolated. My experiences are repeated thousands of times over again across my town, my country, and the world I live in.
Therefore, I have come to this conclusion: Wine is a mocker, strong drink is a brawler, and whoever is led astray by it is not wise.
My experience with alcohol has shown to me that I am unable to stop it and it's effects. It puts me in situations where I am not in control of my faculties and am around others who are not in control either. This does not sound wise to me, and therefore, I have chosen not to drink nor to frequent places where drinking is the main purpose.
This does not mean that I do not go out with friends who drink at the dinner table. I have had fantastic evenings with friends who are having a glass of wine or some other drink with our meal...and I do not condemn them for doing so.
But, as for me and my house, we have taken a pledge of abstinence. I do not condemn those who drink in moderation because I don't believe that Scripture would do so. But it seems to me that playing with alcohol is like trying to have a rattlesnake for a pet. You just never know when it's going to turn around and strike you.
I believe that I am free to have a glass of wine if I want to...but wisdom has told me not to and I am going to listen to that voice.
So there's my perspective.
