When is it OK for a Christian to be affected by alcohol?
24 Jun
I was once told by an influential Christian that it’s OK for Christians to get drunk or ‘tipsy’ if they are only hanging out with other Christians.
I was at a party recently where a bunch of Christians were pretty smashed.
When is it OK for Christians to have (say) enough to drink that they can’t drive till the morning?
Strikes me that the Christians you were referring to are making excuses for self-indulgence. What do does your influential Christian make of Eph 5:18? 1 Th 5:8? Just a couple of quick examples. I’m struggling to think of an example in the Bible where drunkeness is mentioned a good or even neutral thing, e.g. Noah, or even Rev 17:2. Happy to be given a counter point!
Personally (it took me a long time to come to even this) I’m ok with a small amount of alcohol – after all even Jesus drank some wine at the Last Supper – can’t imagine him being ratfaced though
. But if you can’t be trusted to drive (because of alcohol affecting your judgement and risk taking behaviour) – then can you be trusted to treat your brothers and sisters with real love and respect for the other members of the body of Christ?
That’s my take on it, anyway.
Good response Mike.
My view is that alcohol is one of God’s good gifts:
Psalm 104
You cause the grass to grow for the livestock
and plants for man to cultivate,
that he may bring forth food from the earth
and WINE TO GLADDEN THE HEART of man,
oil to make his face shine
and bread to strengthen man’s heart.
The Bible doesn’t command us not to drink.
It definitely commands us not to get drunk.
I guess it’s at this point that many young Christians struggle. ‘When does drinking turn to drunkenness?’
I spent a lot of time in my teens and early twenties in a culture of hard drinkin’ – and – sometimes I think that Christians don’t do a good job of differentiating themselves from their unregenerate surroundings.
All this from a guy who has around 400 bottles of home-brewed beer in his house…
I just wonder what you’d do with jesus miracle at Cana? –
- transforming all that water into wine with the knowledge that people would self-indulgantly get inebreated on it. Indeed this seems to be a major point- in contrast to the cheap stuff used saved til last when people were too drunk to know the difference.
In fact, it is also interesting that the first instance of intoxication in the Bible was that of Noah (Gen 9) a ‘righteous man’.
Although I agree that it is wrong for Christians to over-consume alcohol there are still a few instances I am unsure about.
Thanks Dan.
It’s always vexed me too – not that Jesus would miraculously make wine – or that he’d drink it either… But that he’d make SOO much!
Some say that it was very weak wine – but most don’t show why they think that.
Some say that the wedding celebrations would have lasted many days.
Anyone else have thoughts on the wedding at Cana?
I’ve read numerous sources saying wedding celebrations in those days could last up to a week, but couldn’t cite a particular one off the top of my head. Google is your friend
@Dan I’d just say that he was called righteous before he got drunk
Seriously though the Bible never seems to avoid otherwise great people’s failings (witness David, Moses, etc). Although after what Noah had just gone through I could understand him having a bit of a bender.
To me drunkeness in the Bible is a bit like polygamy – it might seem a bit fuzzy on the whole good/bad thing, except that every time it happens things tend to go badly (ok Cana is a possible exception to that rule, yay for the presence of Jesus making risky things work out
ie we can’t just say to people “Just do what people in the Bible did!” You have to look at the consequences as much as the direct instruction, even when people thought they were doing righteous acts.
I think you make the right point tho, it’s *over*-indulgence that’s the issue – knowing where the line is and having the wisdom and strength of character and love for others not to cross it. And that takes relationship, community, etc.
@Jono I’d be having a long chat with anyone in my community who was embarrassingly/aggressively/lewdly drunk…
@Jono just a thought on the quantity – possibly a lot of GUESTS?
@Mike said:
“I’d be having a long chat with anyone in my community who was embarrassingly/aggressively/lewdly drunk…”
Totally agree. I wasn’t referring to anyone in my community. Best to make that clear!!