That Devil Drink

For those who read the Mudgee Guardian’s police briefs from last week you might have seen a recurring theme running through most of the segments. If you haven’t it can be read here: http://www.mudgeeguardian.com.au/news/local/news/general/police-briefs-for-november-24/2006404.aspx?storypage=0

At a first glance it would seem that alcohol intoxication would be either a primary or secondary factor in many of the incidences in the report. But this seems to be in line with the state average. According to NSW State Commissioner Andrew Scipione, 70% of all street crime is caused by alcohol overindulgence (http://news.smh.com.au/breaking-news-national/booze-is-the-reason-for-crime-scipione-20100913-157hu.html). For those who are not convinced of the dangers of overdosing on booze, The National Health and Medical Research Council’s website (http://www.nhmrc.gov.au/your_health/healthy/alcohol/burden.htm) lists a frightening array of diseases associated with alcohol consumption. These include cardiovascular disease, cancer, diabetes, malnutrition, obesity, liver diseases etc etc. Does this mean Christians should not drink at all?

The Bible actually mentions wine a fair bit in the Bible. The first time we read about it is in Genesis 9:21 when someone quite important (Noah) gets sloshed. Are we to see this as a warning against drinking alcohol? Probably not but there are many other Bible passages which warn against overindulgence (Proverbs 20:1, 23:29-32, Isaiah 5:11, Ephesians 5:18). So we may drink, but not in excess. After all, we even read about Jesus turning water into wine (John 2:9) at a wedding.

Something else we need to consider as Christians is that everybody is different and for some people, alcohol is a hindrance to their spiritual growth. On our part, we should be aware of our own limits and ensure we do not go beyond them but we should also be sensitive of those who may be struggling to control their own drinking habits. Just because we feel we are free to drink (within our limits of course) we should not assume everyone else is too. There are those who live with a daily temptation to overindulge and we should do our best to support our brothers and sisters who fight this temptation. The apostle Paul writes with this in mind in Romans 14:21.