One and done is never fun!: The Case for Drinking

So this week I have the daunting task of defending the secular view of drinking and I will add in partying. I know that this is going to be tough especially since I know the argument is clear here. Colossians 3 clearly states the case and point. I know another argument is against being of the world which is that life of evil and bar hopping and sleeping around and etc. So despite all those well laid out arguments in the Word I still have to call into question the rules behind abstaining from drinking and the lifestyle, one because I have to argue the affirmative side and two it is an interesting and close to home subject. Now again before I begin I would like to offer full disclose here. I have and still do struggle with drinking. I do enjoy my Sam Adams more then I probably should. Does this make me a bad person and Christian? I can’t answer that, I feel God will call me to answer for my transgressions. Is recognition of the struggle better than an ignorant struggler?

I have to say that even though I’m involved in the “crazy” lifestyle that since being saved I have not gone “balls to the wall” as I used to do. Do I stumble, absolutely but I still maintain that I have a relationship with Christ that is not breakable by a few drops or few gallons of the spirits. I know Brendan will probably make the Ephesians 5:8 arguments. “Don't fill yourself up with wine. Getting drunk will lead to wild living. Instead, be filled with the Holy Spirit.” This is easier said than done. I know it seems like I am making excuses for the lifestyle and behavior I sometime chose but as a young Christian honestly it’s hard. I even find sometimes that I do judge other Christians in that regard. I sense that squeaky clean image and that air of moral superiority and I am just like really cmon. Can I be faulted for my struggles because they are apparent while theirs might not be? In a way they make it hard to want to be around them. I just want to be 25. I know I am called to more but we do not live in a Christian bubble.

Some people know my testimony and understand my background and say its better because of the life I used to lead. Others say that the moment I drink that beer or start to party it up with some heathens I tarnish that same testimony. I think as people we tend to look at singular actions more than we look at the body of work. If people were to judge solely on single moments of other people’s lives how could we ever stand to look at each other with love? I know it happens. I love my friends and they are some of the biggest boozers on the face of the planet. Is it really in God’s plan that I turn my back on them because I am a Christian? That I can’t drink with them and be around them seems kind of absurd. Do I put them above my love for God I don’t think I do. They have seen me drive from a night of NJ partying because I had a Fusion event or some Lighthouse program or some conference. They say, “Wow Ant you party it up, but you faithfully attend church.” There is a sense of recognition of the devotion I have to my God in my actions and their acknowledgement.

I wish I could honestly say that the canvas of my life has been painted entirely with the Holy Spirit but I can’t. I am not ashamed of who I am. I understand that there is a war raging constantly for my soul but I know the battle is won. Someday I won’t need to party it up. I won’t have that strong desire to be in that environment. I will probably get a lot of flak for ending on this note but I guess I could some it up like this 1^st Corinthians 13:11 When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me.