I really don't like this topic. I don't know why I'm writing about it. Oh well. Let me start off by saying I think drinking is a waste of time. I think it's a waste of time and money, I think Dr. Pepper, Strawberry Smoothies, and Sunny Delight are a much better way to spend your money. You don't have to worry about getting drunk and making a fool of yourself, but your mouth is filled with immense flavor, that is truly delightful. With that said, I don't think drinking is a sin. I see visions of people throwing stones at me right now, particularly my parents. Ha, just kidding. Kind of. I also want to say, I'll never drink any kind of alcoholic beverage.
Proverbs 20:1, "Wine is a mocker and beer a brawler; whoever is led astray by them is not wise."
God doesn't think drinking is wise.
I haven't found any verses that say it is wrong to drink, only that it is wrong to get drunk.
Ephesians 5:18, "Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit."
My thoughts exactly God. Debauchery is "extreme divulgence in sensual pleasures" or something like that. I just looked it up, but I forgot the exact wording. You get the idea. The point? Drinking is a waste of time and money.
1 Corinthians 6:12, "Everything is permissible for me' - but not everything is beneficial. 'Everything is permissible for me.' - but I will not be mastered by anything."
Everything is permissible. I’m not sure how “beneficial” drinking is.. The surrounding context around these verses is talking about sexual immorality. I think it's noteworthy though. If it's a sin to get drunk, I don't think there's much point of drinking. The chances of you not getting drunk are slim to none, and I hear that it's not even all that tasty. It's also addictive. You may not get drunk, but you may get addicted. Don't be mastered by anything. If you're addicted, you have made alcohol your idol. I’m sorry. I keep saying “you, you, you” like everyone in the world is headed straight for hell or something. That’s not what I’m meaning to sound like.
There are some more reasons why I think it's not a sin to drink. One...Jesus turned water into wine. I do not think Jesus would make wine for people to drink if He was just going to yell at them later for drinking it. You can read that story in John 2. Another reason is...Jesus drank.
Matthew 11:18-19, "For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, 'He has a demon.' The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, 'Here is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and 'sinners.' But wisdom is proved right by her actions."
When I first read that, I thought...well maybe He was drinking orange juice. But if He was drinking orange juice, they wouldn't have accused Him of being a drunkard because someone would have been like "uhm, dude, it's orange juice." They called Him a drunkard, but that doesn't mean He was one. They were just jerks who liked to accuse Him of a lot of things that weren't true.
Matthew 15:11, "What goes into a man's mouth does not make him 'unclean,' but what comes out of his mouth, that is what makes him 'unclean.'"
Jesus was talking about food in that quote, but the point remains the same. You can't be unclean because of what goes into your mouth. He later explains that "what comes out of the mouth" comes from the heart, and out of the heart come some pretty evil things, and that is what makes you unclean.
Galations 5:13, "You, my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve one another in love."
As Christians, we're free. But that doesn't mean we can abuse that, and maybe one say to abuse the freedom is to drink or get drunk.
1 Corinthians 8:9, "Be careful, however, that the exercise of your freedom does not become a stumbling block to the weak."
1 Corinthians 8:13, "Therefore, if what I eat causes my brother to fall into sin, I will never eat meat again, so that I will not cause him to fall."
Basically the same points again. We have freedom, but that doesn't mean we shouldn't think about what we do. Maybe if you drink without getting drunk, you'd be causing another Christian to stumble, and drinking is their weakness.
I also want to remind you that I think drinking is a waste of time and money. It can lead to getting drunk, and that can be dangerous. Getting drunk is also a sin, but more than that...you're endangering yourself and others around you. Even if drinking in and of itself is not a sin, I think it's unwise because you could end up with an addiction, or in a car accident even if you think you're not drunk.
Think about the people around you. Think about Dr. Pepper.
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