OCTOBER 12 "SOBRIETY, A CHRISTIAN VIRTUE"

 Christians want to fight for their right to drink. Of all the battle grounds that a Christian must choose to fight on or not, this is one that Christians will fight 'till their death, their right "to drink". We all know, some Christians drink and other Christians don't.  We all know, some Christians get a good buzz and other Christians don't, some Christians get drunk and other Christians don't. Which Christian are you? Is sobriety still a Christian virtue? As we read in Thessalonians, we are reminded of who we are; we are Children of the Light, Children of the Day, Children of Sobriety.  There's nothing more embarrassing than the drunk uncle at the wedding, the drunk father or mother at the family gathering. As Christians, we of all people should be sober and practice sobriety. Drunkenness is an altered state of mind. I have not heard of too many Christians that will push for their right to smoke weed, but they are the same. Whether you are stoned or drunk, you are not sober, you are in an altered state of mind. You will do things when drunk that you would not do sober. You will say things when you are intoxicated, that you would not do when sober. You will flirt, compromise, and do many other things that you would not do sober. We as Christians are called to be sober minded. It doesn't take too many glasses of wine or too many beers to start to decline into that altered state of mind. No doubt, drinking loosens us up. "Here, have a drink, loosen up" is the phrase we often hear. And once we loosen up, all self restraint, goes out the window. We have all heard of the horror story of Michael English and  Marabeth Jordon (Group First Call) who went on tour together and did just fine through out the tour, until the last night of the concert tour, decided to celebrate with a bottle of wine. Both were married at the time to other spouses, perhaps there was a mutual attraction between the two through out the tour, but sobriety allowed them to exercise self restraint. "Have a drink, loosen up" is the mantra, well they had a drink and really loosened up, loosened all their clothes off and the rest is history. Is sobriety still a virtue of the Christian? A righteous, moral life is hard enough to live when we are sober and in our right minds, how can we even think we will succeed when intoxicated. We wish (at least I do) that it plainly stated in the Bible that drinking is a sin, but we know it does not. Drunkenness is a sin and is plainly stated. And so because it does not plainly state, "drinking a glass of wine is a sin" we will then have a glass, or two or three...". However remember, it does state in the bible that those that wanted to be "consecrated unto God" were not to drink any kind of wine.  Why would God have made that a requirement? Why would God have written, "if you want to come to the next level with me, abstain from alcohol, give up your right to drink!" Is sobriety still a virtue of the Christian? You'd better darn well believe it is. I'm not a Baptist and I'm not and Apostolic Pentecostal, but yet I can still make a stand, in my house and in my life, that some things in life we are better without and the best place for me to be, each and every day, is in sobriety and If I feel the need to "loosen up" I have a whole list of things I can do in life, that allows me to loosen up, that does not involve me flirting with alcohol and seeing how far I can push my freedom as a Christian. Paul wrote, "I am free to do all things, but not all things are profitable for me to do".  Paul also wrote, "that I must be careful in exercising my freedoms that I don't cause ones that a weaker to stumble."  You'd better make sure, that in your fighting for your right to drink, you fighting for your right to exercise "your Christian freedoms" that you don't cause "one of these little ones to stumble" whether that's your own children or a new Christian in your church, you'd better be careful because Jesus' warning is stern to those who cause others too stumble just because they want to exercise their freedoms......in Christ!"

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