Some Thoughts on Drinking This Holiday Season

Is it acceptable for a Christian to drink?

The Bible tells us the story of John the Baptist, who was set apart by God from the time he was in his mother’s womb. In Luke 1:15, the angel said of John, "He will be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink. He will also be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother’s womb" (NKJV).

John gives us a good model for life: he drank neither wine nor strong drink. Personally, I don’t drink at all. That is due, to some degree, to coming from an alcoholic home and seeing the devastation that drinking can bring. I can’t think of a single good thing that comes from drinking, but I can think of many bad things that come from it: broken homes, violence, accidents, people killed on the road by drunk drivers, addiction, destroying your health . . . the list goes on.

Drinking will never make anything better, only worse. Every illustration of drunkenness in the Bible is a disaster:

Noah became drunk, and in his nakedness, he acted shamelessly.
Lot became drunk and his daughters committed incest with him.
Belshazzar, in Daniel 5, had a drunken feast and worshipped his false gods. He lost his kingdom that night.

Many a kingdom, family, career, ministry, and life have been lost through drinking.

"But I have the liberty to drink, Greg!" some would say. I would not completely dispute that. I personally drink as much as I want to, but I don’t want to drink! As Paul told the Corinthian believers, "’I have the right to do anything,’ you say—but not everything is beneficial. ‘I have the right to do anything’—but I will not be mastered by anything" (1 Corinthians 6:12 NIV). I don’t want to be under the power of anyone or anything but Jesus Christ!

Here’s a revolutionary thought: If you don’t drink, you will never get drunk. If you do drink, you may get drunk. Is it worth the risk?

But here’s another question for you: Could your so-called liberty ever cause another believer to stumble in their faith? 1 Corinthians 8:9 says, "Be careful, however, that the exercise of your rights does not become a stumbling block to the weak."

John never touched alcohol, but was instead "filled with the Spirit." The Bible says, "Don’t be drunk with wine, because that will ruin your life. Instead, be filled with the Holy Spirit" (Ephesians 5:18 NLT). It’s better to be filled with the Spirit than with the spirits.