A Christian Perspective on Drinking

We have all formed our own judgments and conclusions on this topic. I've had my preconceived notions for years. But now that I have tried quite a few types of alcohol at a good share of crazy parties, I feel that I'm actually qualified to write this and share what I've learned. I'm first going to share what the Bible says and then expand on that with my personal views.

Biblically, drinking is acceptable. Jesus drank wine many times on various occasions. Sure, it wasn't as strong as today's wine, but regardless, he drank wine. Now, there have been debates on this and some say that the wine referred to there was actually grape juice, etc. I'm not a Greek or Hebrew scholar, but the conclusion I've come to is that alcohol, in and of itself, is not a bad thing, nor is it a sin to drink it. However, in Ephesians 5:18, the Bible does tell us not to become intoxicated. That much is clear, and there are many examples in the Bible (and in real life!) of when drinking too much has been a very bad thing. So, to sum up the Biblical perspective as I have come to understand it, drinking is OK. Drinking to excess is not.

Now this brings me to how to apply this knowledge. Should I feel free to drink as much as I want, provided that I don't get drunk? Is being buzzed OK? Let me note that this is the part that is not based solely on the Bible, but on what I've put together. I want to start with a pros and cons list of drinking.

Pros of Drinking:

• Having a buzz can be a lot of fun. It makes everything funny, and just makes everything looser and more free.
• It's much easier to fit in with a crowd where everyone is drinking when you are, in fact, drinking.

Cons of Drinking:

• If you pass that line, you're going to have a terrible night/morning, and if you go REALLY far, you might die.
• You can't drive. OK, you can, and most do, but you shouldn't.
• Alcohol doesn't taste good. I know, you're going to tell me it's an acquired taste. But really, the guy who took bath salts and went rogue zombie in Miami acquired a taste for human flesh, and no one's fighting and saying that human flesh tastes good! You can acquire a taste for anything, but in reality, alcohol's not that good.
• You have to keep pictures off of Facebook and guard one side of your life from others you don't want to know about it. (Or do you email your Aunt Edna pictures of the latest keg stand?)
• You could be arrested. Because wherever there's alcohol, there's people under 21 who want to drink it, and do drink it. And if you're over 21 and at that party where the underage are drinking, you can get busted for it. On the other hand, if you're under 21, you already know you can get busted.
• Some Christians will judge you for drinking at all, even if that view isn't biblical. And if you're a Christian, the Bible explicitly instructs you not to lead your brother astray.

In my opinion, the cons greatly outweigh the pros. Maybe you don't think so. I'm going to present two more points that I've come to. 

Firstly, most drinking is done at parties. If you've ever been to one of these parties sober, you know that the alcohol is really the thing that makes it fun; the party itself isn't great. Beer pong is really not an exciting sport, hence why I don't have a favorite beer pong team that I watch on TV. If the party runs out of alcohol, the party is over. Alcohol shouldn't be necessary to have fun; I know how to have tons of fun without it! All I see at these parties are people trying to fill their lives with something where they have nothing. And when I go to these parties, the fact that I have that something stands out to me. I have this thing, this amazing peace, fulfillment and happiness in Christ, that the crowd is fulfilling with alcohol. But how will they begin to see what I have if I'm drinking alcohol as well? Sure, I can be cool and take down quite a few shots, doing crazy stuff like the rest of them. But if I act the exact same way the world does, I'm not really spreading the message that I have Christ. Sure, if I tell them I'm a Christian, I'm giving off the 'Christians are cool too!' vibe. But that's not the vibe I want to give off. I'm looking for the 'Christ is cool!' vibe. Alcohol doesn't make me stand out as a servant of Christ.

The other conclusion that I came to comes from 1 Corinthians 10:23: "Everything is permissible--but not everything is beneficial." This verse is talking about our freedom in Christ. In regards to alcohol, I believe that it's saying drinking is OK. Christians can drink. But we need to form our own conclusions about whether it's beneficial. I've laid out the evidence that has led to my decision, but you must make your own. My life goal is to bring glory to God, and I don't see how me drinking brings glory to Him in most situations. So I'm going to apply it to my life by not drinking anymore. Now, I'm not going to make an ironclad agreement where I say that I will never drink again. I may have a glass of champagne to celebrate a birthday for a friend. But pointless drinking to fill a void in my soul? I don't need it; I don't have a void in my soul! I have Christ, and that's what I'm living for.