Tuesday, August 11, 2015

How Much Alcohol Should a Christian Drink?


The Bible is VERY clear about this issue. There is NO guessing as to how much alcohol a Christian should drink. In Titus 2, God commands older men to "be sober." He commands older women to be "not given to MUCH wine." He commands young women to "be sober." He commands young men to be "sober minded." In verse 2, Paul writes, "Teaching that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world."

Paul writes in 1 Timothy 5:23, "No longer drink water exclusively, but use A LITTLE  wine for the sake of your stomach and your frequent ailments." In Titus 1, Paul gives the qualifications for an elder, "not given to wine....sober" and in 1 Timothy 3:8, "sober...not given to wine." For a deacon, he writes, "not given to MUCH wine."

Therefore, it is clear to me that we, who call ourselves Christ followers, are supposed to be sober; drinking A LITTLE or NOT MUCH wine. Elders in the church are not to even drink wine! The dictionary defines sober as "habitually temperate, especially in the use of liquor." Temperate means "moderate as regards indulgence of appetite or passion, especially in the use of alcoholic liquors."

This looks pretty clear to me, women! We are to only drink a little or not much wine and always be sober, which means to not be tipsy at all. For this reason, I can only drink a few sips and I don't care to drink any. It just doesn't hold any appeal to me anymore. When I was younger, I would drink a glass of wine occasionally, but I never felt good the next day. 

Also, alcohol is a drug and all drugs have side effects, especially today's wine that is made from grapes which are some of the most heavily sprayed crops on the planet. Yes, there's organic wine but it's still a drug that is unnecessary to consume, if you choose not to.

However, if you know Christians who enjoy an occasional glass of wine, remember this is their liberty in Christ. Yes, it should only be a little and not much but this isn't our job to monitor how much that is for each person. Each person knows how much they can drink without feeling the effects of it and still remaining sober.