As I write this message it occurs to me that it’s appropriate that today is the day we commonly refer to as Cinco De Mayo. I don’t know how they roll down in Mexico on this day, but I do know for sure that here in the U.S. we’ve warped this day into an excuse to drink too much.
We do the same thing on St. Patrick’s Day which, ironically is my birthday. I recently turned 61 years old and have no problem admitting that memories of a good twenty of those 61 birthday celebrations have been erased thanks to the fact that whatever historical significance St. Patrick’s Day may have, we for some reason warped it into an excuse to wear ugly green clothes and get knee walking drunk.
It makes zero sense, but it is what it is.
Drunkenness is one of those things, like sexual sin, that the Bible doesn’t pull any punches on. For those of you just tuning in, God doesn’t appreciate drunkenness. The dilemma that creates for some comes from the fact that God also created wine for the enjoyment of His people, you, and me. Let’s look at both sides of what God has to say about it. In Proverbs 20:1 it says, “Wine produces mockers; alcohol leads to brawls. Those who are led astray by drink cannot be wise.” Conversely, we get this from Psalms 104:14-15. “You cause grass to grow for the livestock and plants for people to use. You allow them to produce food from the earth and wine to make them glad, olive oil to soothe their skin and bread to give them strength.”
Now, understand that God isn’t contradicting Himself here. Instead, He’s making the point that we have a great propensity to take His gifts and pervert them into something He never intended for them to be. For instance, in the confines of how God intended sex to exist between one man married to one woman, sex is awesome. But because we, in our humanity tend to be stiff necked and rebellious, we take the gift, and we add stuff to it and we alter it and we give no regard to what God must be thinking and feeling. We re-tool the gift to meet a selfish desire and that results in someone being hurt one way or another.
If we look at this through the Biblical prism of alcohol consumption, the Word is clear. Drinking is NOT a sin. Drinking to get drunk most certainly is. In chapter 2 of John’s Gospel, we’re given the account of Jesus turning water to wine at the wedding feast in Cana. The wine has given out which creates a state of panic because of the degree of humiliation it will bring to families of both bride and groom. It would be a faux pas that would haunt them forever.
Given the fact that so much wine has already been consumed, why in the world would Jesus agree to provide more? Well, there are several answers to that. The first, clearly is that God had a plan. This miracle affirmed Mary’s faith in her Son. It also gave the apostles the assurance that this man they were following was in fact sent by God.
Jesus also performed this miracle out of love for Mary. When you read the interaction that takes place between them, it’s quite poignant.
Jesus also restocks the bar because He knows the torment these families will face if they have to own the embarrassment of having run out of wine. With that, it’s also worth noting a couple of other things here.
In Jesus’ day wine didn’t have the potency that it has today. In fact, because fresh, clean water was hard to come by wine was mixed with water and used as a primary source of hydration. Also, wedding feasts went on for days. There was much eating, dancing, and singing taking place throughout – making it a challenge to get drunk. And finally, there was a reverence to these celebrations. Those in attendance are celebrating God as much as they are the newly married couple. That means that these partiers were more than aware as to how God felt about drunkenness.
Could there have been drunkenness at the wedding feast in Cana? Absolutely. But as with all sin, that drunkenness would not have been imposed by Jesus, it would have been facilitated and nurtured by individuals making poor choices.
And then there’s this. Jesus drank wine. No doubt about that. He states it loud and clear to the Pharisees in Luke 7:34-35. “…the Son of Man feasts and drinks and you call Him a glutton and a drunkard.” At the Last Supper, when Jesus initiates communion, He tells us that this is to be His last drink of wine until He returns to claim His people. Which also provides a subtle indication that once again, God means for wine to be used to celebrate His glory. But again, enjoying it the way He intended, not the way we’ve hijacked it and created a divide between ourselves and Him.
Those believers who choose not to drink for whatever reason should keep in mind that this is their personal choice and that they need to be careful not to let it hurt their witness. In the same way that it would become challenging to share the gospel after 3 glasses of red wine, the gospel is also distorted when believers tell non-believers that drinking alcohol leads to condemnation. Neither behavior is sound biblically speaking.
The lesson here is simple. We’re blessed with the ability to enjoy all that God has given us so long as we enjoy those things the way God intended. Once we let Satan convince us that these gifts can be twisted to meet individual desires we may have, we can place ourselves on very slippery slopes.