Losing My Temperance

There was an essay recently in Christianity Today where the writer expounded on why she does not drink alcohol: She lives in an impoverished neighborhood where one of the variables of destruction is alcohol abuse. She felt that drinking alcohol in that context gave the tacit approval for abuse.

She writes: When we take Communion with our friends and neighbors, we use grape-flavored Kool-Aid as a symbol of Christ's blood, shed for us. Really...tons of sugar, artificial coloring? That's truly mendacious. A lot of Americans struggle with metabolic disorders and dietary issues such as diabetes, hypertension, heart-disease, and inflammation, by the over-consumption of sugar and simple carbohydrates. Probably even a lot of people in her 'hood. Not exactly a stumbling-free substitute. Ridiculous actually.

Fork over the candy bars and soda, yo.

Then, she went from there into a general commentary of how drinking Christians should avoid posting picture of beer, wine, and etc. on Social Media because some of their friends may struggle with alcohol and as Christians we shouldn't want to cause another person to stumble. This is an old argument with the 21st century dynamics of the internet exponentialness and anonymity. Maybe I shouldn't have put a picture of my Bacon Log sandwich on Facebook a couple of weekend ago...an obese person could have been tempted.

She actually writes that we should not wear our "I Love Bacon" tee-shirts in the presence of our Islamic or Observant Jewish neighbors. Now, this is downright stupid. Sorry. I may not wear a pro-pork tee-shirt in Sharia-town because I am afraid that some lunatic might chop my head off with his sword, not because I am afraid of being a bad witness in our secular society. Remember Paul calling out Peter publicly for his anti-porkness? Do not call unclean what God has called clean. Period.

Some commented that they felt convicted or condemned by her anti-alcohol article. Not me.

Here is why:

Ever since Noah's sons walked backwards to cover their father's drunken nakedness with a sheet, alcohol use and abuse has been with the human race. Surely, people got loaded in Jesus's day. Needless to mention, Jesus's first miracle of doubling down on the wine as the Wedding in Cana celebration continued.

I think serving wine actually is a more powerful testimony for a culture that treats alcohol unsacramentally, non-carefully, and incautiously. Everything is sacred and should be treated as such. If an alcoholic is at-risk of falling off the wagon because of Communion, then by all means drink grape juice. For the rest of us, we should embrace the wine. The weaker brother argument really only concerns a believer who is truly vulnerable and actually had much more historically to do with idol worship and sacrificial meats, not alcohol. It is a faulty exegesis.        

Are we naive enough to think that the slander of Jesus being a "wine-bibber" was a total fabrication? No, like most lies it was a half-truth which are typically much more effective than out and out lies.Jesus knew all of the abuse of alcohol. Might has been wiser for Him to provide grape juice to the wedding party and the Last Supper. Would have been safer. And wrong. Why did Jesus, knowing all that he did about alcohol, choose to embrace and use it rather than avoid it?  

I doubt there is anyone who ever lived who wanted to become an addict ahead of time. Like a goal. I think addictions happen step-by-step. From use to abuse to addiction one story down at a time into an abyss of destruction.  As such, use and abuse are different. I could more effectively argue, contrary to the teetotaler writer, that a moderate use of alcohol actually is a better witness than abstention or abuse. Moderation is tough. It requires self-discipline, maturity, and the ability to say "that's enough."

Let me give a couple of examples to show this in action. I typically don't drink beer during the daytime, during the week, or when I have just worked out. Starting the drinking too early creates an alcohol arc where there is too much time available to over-drink. I avoid drinking during the week because I fear that I could establish a daily habit where the ruts may deepen. I don't drink after working out because plain old thirst will cause me to suck down two or three beers before I stop sweating. How have a learned these parameters? By experience, by use. I give myself free reign to drink as much flavored ice-cold seltzer as I want. No restrictions. Just bought another three cases today at Costco. Sometimes me drinking a beer is just something to do. Not a great sacrifice to substitute and a lot more enjoyable because it doesn't make me sluggish after downing four of them in quick succession like a I did yesterday.    

Here is another example, just a different substance. I occasionally smoke a cheap cigar on the weekends. I don't consider it a great habit but all in all, pretty harmless. However, I have found that smoking a cigar on Sundays to not be a good idea. I typically am getting wound-up by the preparation psychologically for work the next day and the nicotine disrupts my sleep patterns. I also don't drink excessive coffee and rarely beyond noon. How did I learn these lessons? By staring at ceilings and not resting well and waking up feeling tense and agitated. I could smoke cigars and drink coffee at 10:00 PM. It would be pretty stupid, and that is why I don't do it. It is not a moral issue. It is practical.

At some point, you would think we would have resolution on contentious issues in the Church. The century old debates are old and tired, and get recycled over and over again. It show the inability to understand the Bible and to apply its lessons constructively and clearly in our cultural context. Like we are children in need of scolding and not mature believers who have discernment, the uncommon ability to see God's purposes in all things given freely.