Quick Thoughts on Alcohol

July 2, 2008

Lar,

I trust you have seen the good comments made to your post the other day concerning whether or not you should drink a beer (or two?). To those who commented, I say thanks, because your words were insightful. I think it is good to discern through such things, so I wouldn’t mind hearing a few more words from you on the topic sometime soon. I am sure you have thought it through a bit more during the past few days.

Two things I would mention:

1) Freedom. Now I realize that the freedom we have in Christ is not primarily the freedom to drink beer. Though that freedom is cool and all, the freedom the Scriptures speak of is centrally freedom from the penalty, power, and (one day) the presence of sin (Maranatha!). But I think it is vital for us as Christians to discern through issues such as these with the lens of freedom. It might be when and/or if to drink. How to spend/save/give our money. What to watch. Or any number of things. And although we must realize (of course) that the freedom we have in Christ is not a freedom to sin, we do have a freedom from the various rules and regulations that we, as Christians, are so apt to erect.

2) At times, it is good to go against conscience. (Allow me to explain!)

Now maybe this should be a post in and of itself, but what I mean by this is that there are times in which I know that my conscience is wrong. I have experienced this in particular, with drinking alcohol. Though I always knew drinking alcohol wasn’t wrong in and of itself, something within me viewed it as such. So that even now, when I am offered a drink, some aspect of my conscience says, “You can’t do that. It is wrong.” Well, in this case, I know my conscience is wrong. So in order to undergo a process of renewal within (which my conscience needs), I sometimes (not all the time, mind you), need to tell my conscience to ‘get a clue’ and go ahead to enjoy the freedom I know is in Christ. At times this means, enjoy a good drink!

Does that make sense? I hope so. At the very least, it should lead to some good discussion.

Thankful for every bit of the freedom that is in Jesus,

Joe

p.s. How is that for some quick thoughts? Maybe I can start a 22 paragraph blog or something…

Posted by Joe | Filed Under Random Musings, Seeking Him