I recognize the volatility this blog may have for some of my numerous [sarcasm] readers. I pause to apologize to those who will express disappointment. Yet, the following is an outgrowth of my own personal walk in faith. In no way do I wish to diminish the reality that alcohol has participated in many personal struggles and tragedies. The purpose is not to glorify the use of alcohol, but to recognize its appropriate place in the life of the individual believer and non-believer alike.
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Some of my fondest memories have involved the sharing of a drink. Whether tailgating with friends from college, toasting my best friend at his wedding, or sharing a beer with my brother at the end of Pier Street after grandma passed away, a libation has enhanced many of the moments in my life – transforming them from 'time spent' to 'timeless.' I certainly have a trail of forgettable moments with alcohol as well, but such is life – I also have a trail of forgettable moments with dressing myself, talking out loud, and sending emails.
Not too long ago, on a Saturday afternoon following Thanksgiving, I sat with my best friend Steve at the Gordon Biersch restaurant in Midtown Atlanta. We were enjoying the seasonal winter brew, watching college football and sharing the same old stories we love to hear and love to tell. Somewhere in the midst of my second mug our food arrived. As was our custom we said a prayer before we ate. Not long after an older woman approached our table – "I was watching you from over there, and I just want you both to know how touched and encouraged I was to see you pray over your meal in the middle of this crowded restaurant." For a boy who grew up in a small northeast Georgia railroad town, the idea of having a 'God moment' while simultaneously enjoying a beer seemed like a paradox. Yet, that relatively innocuous event was a watershed moment for me – I recognized a certain earned confidence in my own faith journey (and lord knows I've got the scars to prove it) to make, and live in peace with, lifestyle choices that might be 'controversial' to others. I wish the same for other believers and non-believers alike…
Jesus modeled unorthodox, but confident, decision-making like none other. He seemed especially fond of thumbing his nose at religious purity laws and Sabbath regulations.
In fact, in the canonical vision of Jesus' life, the first great miracle he participated in was to subvert the use of ritual washing pots to 'flash ferment' an excessive amount of wine for a small wedding party (John 2). How could Jesus – the ultimate killjoy(?) – have participated in the drunken revelry that was the wedding celebration of antiquity? It seems Jesus may have had a different view on alcohol than the conservative voice of Christianity today.
Where I live in Georgia, alcohol is a hot topic these days – specifically, whether or not wine and beer should be sold on Sundays. While the dangers of alcohol abuse are evident, the prohibition of alcohol sales on Sunday has little to do with those issues. I'd gladly support legislation that limited late-night alcohol sales (nothing good happens after midnight, right?) or increased penalties for drunk drivers, etc. But, a demand that all citizens submit to a conservative Christian religious construct (that has no grounding in the life of Jesus or the New Testament) is a cultural artifact whose time has passed.
One of the great principles of historic Baptist faith (of which I partake) is the 'doctrine of soul competency.' Every individual's religious convictions are an extremely personal matter – one bound up in their own journey with the Divine. For those who feel strongly about Sabbath alcohol restrictions, it would seem a much more sincere approach to freely choose not to purchase alcohol on Sundays – as a matter of personal conviction, not state legislation.
I certainly don't believe the Sunday sale of alcohol is a big enough cross to die on – there are far greater issues to attend to. So, I implore believers to consider the question Jesus asked of his mother at the wedding feast – "what does this have to do with us?" (John 2:4, NASB) – D. Christian Nix, 2/16/11
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"Let beer be for those who are perishing, wine for those who are in anguish! Let them drink and forget their poverty and remember their misery no more." – Proverbs 31:6-7 (NIV)
