There is no doubt that alcohol often is abused, with tragic consequences.
It can destroy lives and is quite dangerous in excess.
It pulls people away from others, not just family and friends, but also from God.
It can lead into a self-destructive escape from reality, a false escape hatch that sucks people into a quagmire.
Does that mean that Christians shouldn’t drink?
Anything can be abused.
No thing is evil in itself, but it is the improper use of something that makes it sinful and destructive.
Sin arises from the misuse of good things, choosing them out of a right proportion and order to God, my own good, and the good of others.
Think of human sexuality, one of God’s greatest gifts and a way of sharing in his act of creation.
It also is often abused in selfish and destructive acts.
Alcohol is no different.
To use it out of a right proportion leads people into sin.
To consume it properly can contribute to human flourishing.
There are three basic rules for drinking like a Christian: feasting, fasting, and friendship.
Feasting entails drinking for the right reason.
Chesterton said that we should drink because we’re happy and never because we’re sad.
Christian festivity is the celebration of the goodness of life and thanksgiving to God for our salvation.
Every Sunday is a day of festivity, as well as the great feast days of Christmas, Easter, etc.
On these days, we celebrate the goodness of life by doing things that are extraordinary: praying, more time with family and friends, enjoying food and drink, and engaging in recreation.
Beer, in moderation, adds to festivity by lightening the heart, strengthening communal celebration, and giving rise to toasting the good things of life.
Feasting should be complemented by fasting, however.
It is impossible to enter into the celebration if we are weighed down by the baggage of sin and an overattachment to worldly things.
This is why Christians engage in periods of penance— commemorating the Passion on Fridays to prepare to celebrate the Resurrection on Sunday and especially during the times of Advent and Lent.
To drink properly, we have to take steps back every so often and make it a sacrifice to God.
Abstaining from alcohol in times of fasting promotes moderation and puts beer in the right perspective— as a source of celebration but also something that needs to be ordered properly to God and to our health.
Friendship also provides an essential context for Christian drinking.
Have you noticed that alcoholics tend to slip away into a world of their own?
We should not retreat into drinking as an escape, to drown away our problems, but to enter into greater communion and conversation with others.
Drinking is a great social enhancer, and that is one of the reasons it has been cherished by cultures throughout history.
It is helpful to reserve drinking for celebratory occasions and for gatherings with friends to avoid falling into excessive dependence.
How often do you have an alcoholic drink?
Do you save drinks for celebration or have them whenever you desire?
Do you ever drink because you’re sad?r a drink through which to extend Christian hospitality?
