Some people will pay thousands of dollars for a single bottle of aged wine.
And then, they won’t even drink it.
Why? Because drinking it would ruin its value.
Go figure….
It’s not just wine speculators who attach what we would consider WAY too much value to wine.
There are countless millions around world who value various forms of alcoholic beverages more than seems responsible.
We all know people who have placed their taste for alcohol ahead of their financial and role model responsibilities to their families and employers.
It’s not a pretty picture.
My purpose this morning is not to lash out against those whose beverage lists include various and moderate amounts of alcohol. I don’t share that beverage pattern but I also recognize that my perspective cannot be lifted up as a “Thus saith the Lord” edict.
Scripture does allow for moderate, non-inebriated consumption of wine. But getting “loopy?” I don’t see that anywhere in scripture as cool with God.
What scripture does say is that any consumption of wine (i.e., alcohol) that causes people to question our commitment to faith is to be avoided.
Why?
Because souls are more important than taste buds, more important than stomachs and certainly more important than buzzed giggles.
No form of alcohol tastes so good that it’s worth putting a bitter taste in God’s mouth.
“Let us therefore make every effort to do what leads to peace and to mutual edification. Do not destroy the work of God for the sake of food. All food is clean, but it is wrong for a person to eat anything that causes someone else to stumble. It is better not to eat meat or drink wine or to do anything else that will cause your brother or sister to fall.” (Romans 14:19-21).
It wouldn’t be good to be in the check-out lane with booze in your cart and then you see somebody who has been thinking about talking to you about God. If that person is surprised to see the alcoholic beverage, sees you as less of a Christian and decides to forgo asking questions, then that has not been a good thing.
OK, so you knew you weren’t going to get loopy with the wine or beer, but at that point, it didn’t matter what you thought.
What mattered was that your taste for the booze got in the way of evangelism.
I know this is a tough topic to discuss. That’s why I’m encouraging you to ask for God’s leading on your personal beverage policies.
It’s between you and Him, anyway, in the final analysis.
You and I just have to make sure that our beverage policy IN NO WAY creates an opportunity for hindering others’ spiritual growth.
As always, I love you
Martin
