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do you ever find yourself wondering I often find myself at a place where I question the behaviors that I’ve always been taught were the “Christian” thing to do. In fact, that prideful, rebellious part inside of me occasionally wants to do things specifically because I’ve been told not to. What does it mean to be “holy”?
Recently, it’s been the subject of alcohol. My parents never touched the stuff (post-conversion to Christianity), but their reasoning was pretty sound: they had seen a lot of alcohol abuse, including family members dying prematurely due to the stuff. They always taught us that drinking alcohol in itself wasn’t a sin, but getting drunk was.
I, in my infinite young wisdom, then began to judge people on a subconscious level. I would never admit it, but it seemed that those who didn’t drink were “better” Christians. Yeah, right.
It’s only recently (last year or two) that I’ve begun to see things in a different light. I learned to love Sangria in Spain, so I started making it infrequently. We’ve got a friend who loves to drink wine/sangria/margaritas/whatever with us. I once had beer and pizza at Bible study. (Everyone was 21+ yrs of age)
Granted, I won’t be bringing beer to church. I won’t be preaching beer in church. And please, if you can’t have a drink without having twelve, you should not be drinking alcohol. But for those who can maintain control over their lives and have a drink, enjoy your freedom when appropriate. Just don’t encourage others who may abuse the stuff.
Alcohol is not a sin in and of itself. The Bible warns us not to get drunk, (Prov 23:21, Rom 13:13, 1 Cor 5:11, 1 Cor 6:10, Eph 5:18, 1 Pet 4:3) but some called Christ himself “a drunkard” because he dared to drink wine, (Luke 7:34) and Paul even told Timothy to drink some wine, (1 Timothy 5:23) so we really need to get off this “alcohol bad, prayer meeting good” kick.
Take a note from Christ. Go and eat with (spend time with, share your lives with) unbelievers, love them, and quit trying to prove how much better you are by not doing things that aren’t really wrong in the first place. Be real. Your “righteous” acts are just filthy rags to our perfectly holy God anyways. (Isaiah 64:6)
Very good points. I agree.
I remember walking into a trade show in Germany about ten years ago. It was 9:00 AM, and many people were eating breakfast. I passed a table where two guys were eating a pile of sausages and drinking beer. Beer for breakfast! That really freaked me out. It shocked my sensibilities as an American, nevermind as a Christian. It’s moments like that when I realize how much culture influences (and perhaps interferes) with my ideas of living a Christian life.
Take our fascination with caffeine. Although not as damaging as alcohol, it’s suposedly more addictive. I actually heard a pastor refer to coffee as “the nectar of life” last week. It cracked me up, but here’s the point: We automatically assume that his coffee drinking is not a life-altering addiction that comes between him and God. However, we _would_ automatically assume that alcohol did just that if he’d referred to beer as the nectar of life.
God is not an American. Beer is not the nectar of life. Neither is coffee. Personally, I prefer beer.
But not for breakfast.