#99 - Should Christians Drink? Exploring Faith's Gray Areas {Reflections}

Ever found yourself wondering about the boundaries of Christian living? In this thought-provoking episode, Ryan tackles the frequently asked question "Should Christians drink alcohol?" – but quickly reveals that the real issue runs much deeper than a simple yes or no answer.

What begins as a specific inquiry about alcohol consumption transforms into a profound exploration of our relationship with substances, habits, and potential idols in our lives. Rather than offering a rigid rulebook, Ryan provides a framework for honest self-examination. He challenges listeners to consider whether their habits produce life or non-life, freedom or bondage, and how these choices impact not just themselves but their families and communities.

Drawing from biblical wisdom, Ryan unpacks Paul's perspective that "all things are lawful, but not everything is beneficial." This nuanced approach invites us to move beyond legalistic thinking and toward discernment that prioritizes both personal wellbeing and the wellbeing of others. The conversation expands beyond alcohol to consider our relationships with everything from marijuana and caffeine to work and even religious performance – anything that might secretly rule our lives.

By the end of this episode, you'll have valuable tools for examining your own habits with brutal honesty and compassion. Whether you're wrestling with specific questions about substance use or simply seeking to live with greater intentionality, this conversation offers wisdom that transcends simple prohibitions and embraces the fullness of life Jesus promised. Share this episode with someone who might benefit from a fresh perspective on Christian freedom and responsibility.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:15):
What is up everybody?
Hey, it's Ryan here.
Welcome to our Reflectionspodcast.
And this week I actually had aquestion from somebody that was
asking about this and I was likeI'll address it on the podcast.
But and I should mention too,I'll address it on the podcast
and I should mention too there'sa number of people that might
hear this and think, oh my gosh,she's talking about me.
But I really am not talkingabout any particular person.
It's one person and thisquestion comes up a lot in

(00:37):
Christian circles.
So this is not about anyspecific person.
But the question is this shouldChristians drink alcohol?
And this is asked a lot on,like these, you know, and
different kinds of you know Q&Atype, you know conversations
online and whatever.
But anyway, the question is,yeah, should Christians drink

(00:57):
alcohol?
And here's the deal.
The question behind thequestion is really something
more like what kinds of thingsshould Christians do and what
kinds of things should we avoid?
And so, in the same vein, somepeople might ask can Christians
smoke weed or consume marijuana?
What about psychedelics orother type things like this,

(01:19):
nootropics and whatnot?
So, yeah, the thing behind thething is what does it mean to be
a Christian and how should webehave in the world.
There's also, if we're honest,some bit of us when we ask this
like, hey, what, what can I doand kind of still be in.
You know what I mean.
Like some people are asking,hey, can I do this and still
like be included in whatever,the, you know, the being a

(01:42):
Christian or whatever.
And it's like what can I do andstill kind of be in.
So, okay, I'll talk about thealcohol first and then the
alcohol is kind of like a smallpicture of the whole thing and
maybe we can land on some waysto address all the things that
we do in our life.
But in the Bible the Bibledoesn't really talk about should
you or should you not drinkalcohol per se.
It does talk a lot aboutdrunkenness, like in the Bible,
a number of times drunkenness isaddressed and the Bible says

(02:06):
like, basically, don't engage indrunkenness and drunken
behavior.
But you should also notice whenit talks about drunkenness and
like a drunken you know beingdrunk it's like talking about a
lifestyle of drunkenness,because it often will pair with
this warning, like warningsabout other things too, like
envy and thieving or stealingand greedy behavior and orgies,

(02:28):
believe it or not, and greedypeople and swindlers, and so
it's sort of like incorporatingall of these into this sort of
pot of a person who's kind ofgone off the rails in almost
every single way and their wholelife is like this life of
debauchery and you'd look atthem and go, oh my gosh, like
that person's gone off the rails.
And so the Bible it's talks alot about like life versus

(02:49):
non-life.
And Jesus, for example, came togive you life and life to the
full.
And in the Old Testament, inthe Hebrew Bible, the laws were
a way for the people to behavethat produced life, and these
were like general laws.
There's a bunch of them but,like you know, in the 10
commandments, for example, likedon't steal, you know, don't
murder.
These are things that actuallyhelp foster life, creativity and

(03:11):
social belonging andcollaboration, these kinds of
things.
And so Jesus comes.
He's like I came to give life.
And when you look at a personwhose life is sort of
characterized by, I don't know,envy and drunkenness and orgies
and thieving and greedy behaviorand swindling, like these
things generally lead tonon-life.
Now we can argue about whetheror not it's fun in the moment or

(03:33):
are there certain elements thatare kind of energizing.
But if we all did this, lifewould be chaotic and really it
would be like some sort ofnon-life.
But here's, I don't know.
Here's the question that I aska lot when I'm asked this
question Like hey, ryan, can Idrink alcohol, even if I'm not
being drunk or living this lifeof drunken, can I drink alcohol?

(03:54):
Or can I use marijuana, can Iuse psychedelics, and these
kinds of questions.
And I would say, here's thething that I always want to like
sort of peel back the layersand figure out.
And what I would ask was likehey, what do you think your
relationship is like with thatthing?
Like, what is your relationshiplike with alcohol?
And when you drink, what's thatrelationship like?

(04:16):
Like we all have theserelationships with these things
and it's like a give and take.
And what is it like?
Why do you drink?
What is it doing for you?
And I think a number of folks Iknow would qualify their
relationship with alcohol, manyof them anyway, not all of them,
but they would say it'sprobably not good.
You know, like they might saythat the alcohol in some ways

(04:36):
has a grip on them.
You know, I know that peoplesay, oh, I could stop anytime I
want to, or I could quitwhenever I want, but a lot of
folks really couldn't, you know.
You know here's.
I might also ask, like, does ithave a grip on you?
Does it?
Do you shape your day around it?
Do you long for or look forwardto the weekend just so you can
drink?
Might you change your plansbecause of this thing?

(04:57):
Would you not go out becauseyou're like I want to just stay
home and drink, or I'll go thereif they have alcohol, or I
won't go there because theydon't have alcohol?
Do you have alcohol or does thealcohol have you?
Has it become a God in yourlife?
If you're brutally like,gut-wrenchingly honest, has
alcohol become this god in yourlife in which your whole life

(05:17):
becomes a circle and centeraround this thing?
If that's the case, then it'sreally an unhealthy relationship
with alcohol.
Like, do you feel like you needto drink?
And also you might ask whenyou're drinking, are you
drinking to kind of check in orto check?
When you're drinking, are youdrinking to kind of check in or
to check out?
Are you drinking and many of usdo this like, are you drinking

(05:38):
to numb out or, like the songsays, to drown your sorrows?
Because, like you too said yoursorrows, will eventually learn
to swim.
But are you drinking to try tobe somebody you're not, or like?
Maybe you could ask how am Iwhen I drink?
How do my friends perceive mewhen I'm drinking?
Do they get nervous around me?

(05:58):
Does my spouse get nervous?
Are my kids nervous when theywatch me drink?
And then I would ask what isthe fruit of all of it?
And so you could ask all thesequestions about any of these
things.
Ask all these questions aboutany of these things psychedelics
, or using marijuana, ordrinking or tobacco, or even
nootropics, or things like sexor coffee.

(06:21):
I mean, coffee is a stimulant.
Coffee is considered a drug.
I mean, caffeine is anincredibly mood-altering
substance, but what's ourrelationship like with coffee
and caffeine, or sweets, orworking out at the gym, or being
a super good Christian?
You know, some of us get highoff of that.
I mean, our life revolvesaround.

(06:42):
Revolves around being a reallygood person.
All of these things can becomeidols in our lives, that kind of
rule over us, and I'm justtelling you this is not freedom,
this is bondage, this is notthe abundant life that Jesus
came to give us, and so, ratherthan giving one pat of answer
for all of these.
I don't know if it's good foryou to drink alcohol or not.
I have no idea.
What's it mean for you?
What is it like in your life?

(07:03):
Does your life revolve aroundit?
Does your family get nervouswhen you do it?
Would you alter your plans tojust include it or not include
it?
Has it become an idol or a godin your own life, and do you
need it?
Does it like?
Numb out something in you thatyou because here's the thing
often we will numb out certainemotions or feelings because we

(07:24):
don't want to feel them, andsometimes those emotions, those
feelings, have a message for us.
There's a thing in there thatwe need to learn about ourselves
or about life, and when we numbout, we miss that message.
And so why are you drinking?
Why do you need to do it sobadly?
Paul, I love this.
In 1 Corinthians, paul says this.
Paul, I love this.
In 1 Corinthians, paul saysthis he says that all things are

(07:46):
lawful what he said but noteverything is beneficial.
So all things are lawful, butnot all things build up.
No one should seek their owngood, but the good of others.
I love that.
Here's what the message.
So Eugene Peterson says it thisway.
He says, hey, looking at it,one way you could say this is
Eugene Peterson, anything goesReally Anything, eugene or Paul

(08:11):
but he says anything goesbecause of God's immense
generosity and grace.
We don't have to dissect andscrutinize every action to see
if it passes muster.
But the point is not to justget by.
We want to live well and ourforemost efforts should be able
to help others live well also.
So that's it, I love it.
Uh, paul says all things arelawful, like really anything's
game, and it's on the table, butnot everything's beneficial.

(08:32):
So, yeah, you can drink alcohol,it's you can.
According to the law, you candrink.
But but is it beneficial anddoes it help build up others
around you?
Some you might say, yes, ohgreat, then it's probably fine
for you to do that.
Others might be like, no, Idon't.
Or maybe you have a recoveringalcoholic as a good friend or a
spouse and you're like, no, I'mgoing to not drink because
they're not drinking and I don'twant to knock them off the
wagon.

(08:53):
And so those are all reallyimportant questions to ask about
all the things in our life thatwe might possibly be addicted
to.
So that's it.
I think that's the answer.
What's good for you, what'sgood for your soul, what's good
for your community, your family,your friendships, for those
watching you live your life,what helps others?
Now look, one quick caveat.

(09:14):
There are some things that Ithink just are not good to touch
.
I'll name a couple just so youcan kind of have an idea.
Things like heroin, you know.
I mean I think it's just forlike almost across the board.
It's a negative net in yourlife to like you should avoid
heroin or pornography or an openmarriage.
These are things that can reallydamage relationships and these

(09:34):
are not good for you or forother people.
They're kind of like these arejust generally I've not really
heard a good argument for themand so.
But there are other things thatare not quite as on the edge of
the line there You've got tokind of wrestle with them.
But I would say, do it honestly, be honest with yourself and
ask your family and your friendsand ask them hey, what is it

(09:56):
like and what do you see in me?
And ask yourself thesequestions and be brutally,
gut-wrenchingly honest aboutthese things.
All right, I hope that helps.
Love you guys, peace.
Hey, if you enjoy this show.
I'd love to have you share itwith some friends.
And don't forget, you arealways welcome to join us in

(10:18):
person at Central in Elk Riverat 8.30, which is our liturgical
gathering, or at 10 o'clock,our modern gathering.
Or you can check us out onlineat clcelkriverorg Peace.