Alcohol Isn't the Problem

 Alcohol drove me to write this post two and a half years ago, and our culture’s dependency on drinking has once again compelled me to share my thoughts.

Originally, I wrote a well-crafted argument full of biting rhetorical questions and vindictive one-liners aimed at my "partying" Christian friends, but after some prayer and reflection I realized the piece came out angry, bitter, and judgmental; there’s a fine line between righteous and self-righteous, and I landed squarely on the wrong side. So I said goodbye to my precious words, held the backspace button for three minutes, and started from scratch.

I realized that the real issue isn't alcohol, but what we value in life. While I may not have a drinking problem, I have a lot of other habits and tendencies that prevent me from being 100% sold-out for Jesus: sometimes I care too much about how I look, or snap at my parents, or carelessly hurt someone's feelings. My problem is that I too often value myself over God and His people.

I don't want to be just another mediocre Christian who bounces from "on fire for God" to "goes to church once a week and sometimes opens the Bible." I want something deeper.

So, I came up with seven questions to ask myself:

1. What does it mean to live a life set apart?
2. Am I living a life of integrity—am I the same person on Saturday night that I am on Sunday morning?
3. Is my love for Christ obvious to others simply by the way I’m living?
4. Am I more concerned with helping others or with satisfying myself?
5. How does my life reflect the victory I have in Jesus, who has overcome the world?
6. Am I setting a good example for those younger than me?
7. How badly do I really want to follow Jesus?

I didn’t enjoy asking myself these questions because I wasn’t proud of a lot of my answers. Yes, I serve a gracious, loving, and forgiving God, but I also serve a righteous God who demands holiness from me. There’s no reason for me to be wallowing in mediocrity when Jesus Christ has amazing plans in store for me if I'll just give myself over to Him. Our God has overcome the world and defeated our sinful nature; we should be living in victory.

I think the Newsboys said it best in their song “In Christ Alone.” 

“And as He stands in victory,

Sin’s curse has lost its grip on me.

For I am His and He is mine,

Bought with the precious blood of Christ.

No guilt in life, no fear in death,

This is the power of Christ in me.”

Imagine what God can do through us if we truly give ourselves over to Him—even in our spare time, and even on the weekends.