Saying goodbye

I’ve been thinking about saying goodbye to alcohol lately. It’s not that I’m so attached to it that it’s becoming unhealthy. There are just some things that have come up in my mind about its place in my life as a Christian, regardless of the culture. I’ve been in enough places - countries, situations – to know that its place in society is still the same: for the party. And the committed Christians in those places – for the most part – don’t take part.

Not only has it been on my mind, it’s come up in my Bible study of Titus. Chapter 2:3 speaks of the set apart pastor who must not be given to worldly issues including wine. While it’s a pretty short verse, I don’t think God stops there on the issue because throughout Paul’s letters he designates the role of the Christian as completely influenced by Christ alone, not social customs or practices that we’ve grown accustomed to. Status quo doesn’t matter. Doing what the rest of the crowd does is not up for debate.

I’m taking up a second job where I have to be familiar with alcohol and distinguishing intoxicated individuals. Lawsuits surround it. Liability and death surrounds it. How cool is that? There aren’t many saving graces to wine or beer or liquor that have a lasting impression on my walk with God. So what’s the big deal? I’ve been asking that to myself because I want to hold on to it, and I have no valid excuses. I think we all ask that when we don’t have a leg to stand on. What’s the big deal with immodesty? What’s the big deal with sex before marriage? What’s the big deal watching this or reading that? As a woman, I ask these things. What’s the big deal?

If I didn’t have the word of God to go by, I could just think about it for a while…even if I were to be a “social” drinker. Where is my witnessing testimony? What kind of faith will I affirm to someone who wants to grow as new believer? They’re going to have questions; they’re going to wonder what else is “allowed.” So can I dance to reggeaton? Is it ok if I listen to hip-hop if the lyrics are just about love and there’s no cursing going on and the volume’s low? Are martinis part of the deal, or just wine? And that’s just legalistic. God is not a legalist. Christianity isn’t even about “how much is too much” or “how far is too far.” Our joy should be in Christ alone when we give Him glory, so I think our actions have to be very intentional. What you do on the outside affects your inside.

I have more thoughts on this. But I wanted to throw that out there.

Note: the second job is not bartending. That just wouldn’t be right, haha.

Resist.

Not wanting to copy too much of what I’m not supposed to, I’ll post one last passage from Wurmbrand’s book Tortured for Christ:

“There is no restraint from the depths of evil that is in man. The Communist torturers often said, ‘There is no God, no hereafter, no punishment for evil. We can do what we wish.’  I heard one torturer say, ‘I thank God, in whom I don’t believe, that I have lived to this hour when I can express all the evil in my heart.’  He expressed it in unbelievable brutality and torture inflicted on prisoners…

…I learned from them. As they allowed no place for Jesus in their hearts, I decided I would leave not the smallest place for Satan in mine.”

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I thought of that passage today. To not leave even the smallest place for Satan in me. It takes a lot of God to overpower when bitterness wants to take over instead. It takes a lot of God when relaxing turns into worry, when work turns into doubt…

I was trying to watch a full episode of NCIS  online when, almost every 30 seconds, a commercial would pop up with a lot of palm trees and chill out music and tawny colors (alcohol ad – you might’ve been thinking a car commercial). The tag line said: Resist Simple. It was for gin. Resist simple and drink gin? It’s such an outright lie! The thing is, it wasn’t even written out properly. Some of the letters were backwards. (Maybe it’s too simple to face the right way???)

And that’s where Satan comes – everywhere. And he changes every moment into an opportunity to fool you, to get you down, to move you farther away from love or making you think you’re nothing. This wasn’t all in the commercial, but there’s absolutely no mistaking the artful presence of evil in life.

From one second to the next, we have to be deliberate Christians. 

Resist temptation.