October 5 - Alcohol in Moderation

      Proverbs 20:1 - " Wine is a mocker and beer, a brawler; whoever is led astray by them is not wise." NIV, ©1973

       I am still amazed at the number of adults who are ready to encourage minors in their consumption of alcohol, as soon as the minor turns 21 years old - as if the "green thumb" has been somehow missing out all of their youth on something incredible! At a recent OctoberFest at my place of employment, I noticed this firsthand, when an adult tried to get a fellow employee to have a beer after work. This fellow employee was still a minor, so she naturally declined. However, after having a short conversation with her, and after seeing her birthday note on the work calendar (Sheila's 21st Birthday - October 19 - Finally!), I realized that she had already tasted alcohol and couldn't wait for more, in a legal fashion. This youth actually had the gall to tell me (at 52 years old) that one actually had to learn to like the taste of beer - as if she had experiential knowledge of this (at 20 years old)!

       I am certainly not against legal adults drinking alcohol. I am not a teetotaler; the Bible is not against drinking alcohol. However, like anything else, we need to ask ourselves why we engage in our behaviors. There are really only two uses for alcoholic beverages - nutritional and drug-related. The former enhances health in the body in a natural way because it is related to moderate usage that does not affect the mind in a radical way. The latter is simply to alter the mood of an individual, either to "take off the edge" or to invite an unnatural euphoria. I will not argue for one wanting to take off the edge to reduce stress, but when alcohol is used to alter one's state of mind, it might as well just be heroine or cocaine!

       Either way, it is moderation, control, and motivation that is in question. Paul states in 1 Corinthians 6:12: "Everything is permissible for me, but not everything is beneficial. I will not be mastered by anything. Food for the stomach, and the stomach for food, but God will destroy them both." The key words are "I will not be mastered by anything". He was wise in using the natural things in life, by not letting them get the best of him. Furthermore, he tells us later on in chapter 10:31, "So whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God". This is why we drink or do not drink. The importance is the "why". Let us please God even in the way we drink.