EMAILED QUESTION : “Bob, I know the Bible forbids drunkenness but is there anything wrong with drinking a glass of wine or a bottle of beer on occasion?”
ANSWER: I grew up in a church that taught that total abstinence from alcohol was proof of spiritual authenticity. The saying “We don’t drink, we don’t chew, we don’t go with girls who do,” was not in the Bible but we thought it should be! Refraining from alcohol, tobacco, and wild women were the earmarks of purity. When pressured about the issue, our church leaders admitted that the Bible didn’t directly command total abstinence. However, they argued we shouldn’t drink because it would harm our witness. Romans 14:21 instructs us not to eat meat or drink wine or do anything that would cause our brother to stumble. Therefore, since so many regarded drinking as wrong they reasoned that Christians should abstain to avoid offending others and losing influence.
Today, drinking is much more acceptable in our culture than fifty years ago and the argument that drinking harms our witness is no longer as persuasive. In fact some Christians who drink wine with their meals or have a beer on the golf course insist that it actually breaks down barriers for them. They claim unbelievers are attracted to their liberty in Christ.
The Apostle Paul wrote, “Everything is permissible – but not everything is beneficial. Everything is permissible – but not everything is constructive” (1 Cor. 10:23). Christians shouldn’t judge one another in matters of opinion but we should carefully weigh the consequences of our choices.
That’s why I don’t make drinking a test of fellowship or friendship. However, I personally choose to totally abstain from the use of alcohol for several reasons:
First, alcohol – especially today’s distilled liquor with its high alcoholic content – weakens will power. I have a difficult enough time resisting temptation without taking a substance into my body that makes it even more difficult.
Second, I am convinced that the odds of my children ever struggling with alcoholism are reduced if I don’t drink at all. I can’t prove that; I just know that instinctively.
And third, I hesitate to contribute money to an industry that has contributed to so much crime, bloodshed, and heartache in the world. I’ve read that over 2000 college students die annually in accidents directly related to alcohol abuse while thousands of others are seriously injured. Meanwhile the alcohol industry intentionally targets the young in its advertising in an effort to recruit more customers and increase revenue.
Call me old fashioned or legalistic but I don’t think I’ve missed much by not drinking. I’m convinced I’ve benefited more than I’ve lost and I hope my children and grandchildren will be like the Rechabites in the Bible (Jeremiah 35) and pass abstinence down to future generations. That would make us a unique clan but, after all, Christ’s followers are supposed to be a peculiar people.
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