So as I attended Refuge Bible Study at Compass last night, the subject of the sermon was a very interesting one. Something that teenager/ young adult is pressured with and once the age of twenty-one comes around, freedom is given to drink alcohol.
Drinking has become such a right within our culture that responisbility no longer goes with it. I looked online to see what exactly the "lack of responsibility" contains and found otu something pretty crazy. This is from an article online about drunk driving:
"First, let us acquaint ourselves with some alarming statistics: 250,000 people have died in alcohol-related accidents in the past 10 years; 25,000 people die each year in alcohol related accidents; 500 people are killed weekly and 71 people daily in alcohol-related accidents; one American life is lost every 20 minutes in an alcohol-related car crash; and one out of every two Americans is likely to be involved in an alcohol-related accident in his lifetime. Every year, 708,000 persons are injured, 74,000 of them seriously, in alcohol-related crashes. About 2,000 people receive injuries each day in alcohol-related accidents."
So with all this said, how can alcohol be taken so lightly as it has been today. A friend of mine said that he was talking with a buddy about his birthday and said, "As long as I don't remember it (becasue of consumption of alcohol), its a good party". Agan, what are we teaching our youths that says that this type of behavior makes you more popular and more liked. I have never liked myself while drunk or someone esle while they were intoxicated. Drinking is a downer, if anything you feel worse about yourself.
However, although all of this is important information, it does not come from scripture. I was actually really surpised the way the pastor approached this subject. He started out by saying although his opinon on the subject is that drinking is wrong and leads to terrible things, that is not scriptual. This is something that I have never heard froma pastor dsuring a sermon. He decided to adeliver his sermon from both sides of the argument. Showing us that it is ok to drink, but do not be stupid about it. He also made us all aware of the dangers that drinking leads to. He quoted the parable of Jesus turning water into wine, which everyone that wants to get drunk knows this parable very well. Yes, I believe and have backup on scripture that drinking responsibly and NOT getting drunk is an acceptable thing to do after the age of 21. However there are many dangers here, that are diorectly from scripture.
Proverbs 21:17 says "He who loves pleasure will become poor; whoever loves wine and oil will never be rich." This is all but true, seeing friends drop thousands of dollars on a given night, not knowing what bottle they are pourchasing because of intoxication. As well as drinks costing upwards of ten dollars a piece. This is just a basic principle to keep in mind. If you spend a thousand dollars on a weekend in Vegas, getting trashed, how much are you giving to your church when Sunday rolls around. Just something to think about...
The pastor went throughout Proverbs and Isaiah quoting verse after verse about what dangers is involved in partying and drinking excessively. Most of these I will list at the end of this post so you cvan look them up. However there was one that hits close to home and really sent a chill down my spine, because I have been there. It is Proverbs 23:31-32 and it says "Do not gaze at wine when it is red, when it sparkles in the cup, when it goes down smoothly! In the end it bites like a snake and poisons like a viper." This is so true and shows that even though alcohol tastes good and feels great, it is so harmfuyl in the end. It impairs judgement and how everythign is perceived in your mind. Morals usually go out the door and you find your self in compromising situations that you would not usually find your self. A great example of this is when Lot left Zoar with his two daughters starting in Genesis 19:30. The two daughters wanted to have sex and with no men around, their father would have to do. Lot was a righteous man yet when he was drunk he had no idea what was going on. The daugheters took turns getting their father drunk and sleeping with him. Lot had no idea at the time since he was comepletly wasted. They both became pregnant from this, completely out of God's will. Now had Lot controlled his drinking, he could have known what his daughters were doing and backed off. This is just one of thousands of stories throughout history that this type of thing has happened. Yet in our society we praise people that can down a beer fast, play beer pong well, and can "hold their liquor". What is wrong with thsi picture.
In Ephesians 5:18, it says to not get drunk on wine but fill yourself with the Spirit. I guarantee a better high from the Spirit of God being inside of you then any type of intoxication.
I do not want you to think that I do not know how it feels to be drunk, make mistakes and other things. If you know me at all, you know of my mistakes and how I have learend from them. From my late teens til about eight months back, pretty much every terrible mistake I made was because of drinking too much, or that is how it started. So I know exactly where you are coming from and am open to questions if you have any.
However, with all this said, Jesus Christ has given us grace for it all. In 1 Corinthians 6:10-11 it explains what has happned, the consequences and what the result is. It says, "...nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God." So by living in the sin of drinking too much and causing more sin through that, we will not inherit teh Kingdom of God. But, Christ shed his blood for us and washed that all away. We are a new creation and have forgiveness through Christ. I am not saying drink all you want and repent later. Constantly living in sin is showing God that you are not truly repentant. Yes, if you stumble or screw up, God has the utmost love and forgiveness for you. But if you are getting wasted every night and have no remorse for it, God is also fair and vengeful. Grace comes with acceptance and true repentance, make sure you know that.
In Christ's Love
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