THIS IS WHY

I don’t drink alcohol

By David Woodbury

Recently I sat across the dinner table with a very attractive 20+ young woman as she explained to me how she was taking care of herself by being careful about the correct food she ate and the chemicals she would not use on her skin. She had beautiful, clear white skin and pearly white teeth testifying to the strict regime she applied to her way of living; all the while she held a glass of wine in her hand.

After commending her on the way she cared for herself I asked the question: So you don’t mind putting into your brain the same chemical that is used these days as motor vehicle fuel? Naturally, there was a pause in the conversation and I think the connection I made was not lost.

It got me thinking as to why it was that I don’t drink alcohol when it is so much an accepted part of the Australian culture? A number of reasons spring to mind and some have to do with a strict Salvation Army upbringing. As a teenager, I signed my Articles of War in which I covenanted not to use alcohol or tobacco; a good start in life. However, as one matures you must develop a mature and rational attitude to abstinence.

Given the extensive and convincing research that is available today into the abuse of alcohol and tobacco, it is glaringly obvious that William and Catherine Booth were ahead of their age when they 

understood the ravages alcohol abuse could bring and insisted those wishing to be Salvationists must abstain from their use. We have held this to be a staunch condition for soldiership. But I’m not so sure in this day and age we are willing to still hold this as one of our core values, and I suspect it may well be one the reasons for the decline in the number of soldiers on our roles.

Conceivably, in our rush to relevance, we have been willing to dilute our stand on the matter and turn a blind eye to the increasing use of alcohol among those in corps leadership, possibly to the point of encouraging it use by our tolerance. What we need to understand is that The Salvation Army will never be a big number organisation simply because it places a high bar, as did our Founders, on membership. 

Unfortunately, we live in a culture where excessive consumption of alcohol is not only tolerated but actively encouraged as a rite of passage. The reality is that community tolerance and standards are not always the best measuring stick for our communities and there are times when Christians need to speak out and set an example when such community tolerance and standards are flawed.

Perhaps it is time we took stock of our attitude and reflected on the reality of the abuse of the substance, and the enormous social and emotional cost to family and community, and perhaps admit, even grudgingly, that William and Catherine were spot on.

In 2004-2005 the cost of alcohol abuse in Australia was calculated at $15 Billion. By 2010 the figures had more than doubled as reported in an article by Danny Rose in The Sydney Morning Herald of 24 August 2010. He writes that: Police and doctors’ groups say a report showing the massive human toll, and $36 billion annual cost, from alcohol misuse is a wake-up call for government and the Australian community.

  

It has been well documented and long known that alcohol consumption has a significant effect on the developing brains of teenagers and young adults, with experts saying that the brain is not fully developed until around 25 years of age. One can only speculate that the common sense reaction to this scientific information would be to increase the drinking age from 18 to 25.

Forbes Magazine of 8 June 2017 says that: a new study, out in the BMJ [British Medical Journal] this week, throws some more evidence to that side of the debate: It finds that moderate drinking may also not be so innocuous when it comes to brain health.

In a world awash with substance abuse with all attendant evils, and bearing in mind the catastrophic impacts that flow from such abuse, I believe that Christians are still called upon to be a light in the darkness of such turmoil.  Some part of the Christian church has to make a clear and understood statement that you can live a full and happy life without the use of alcohol. Such a sacrifice, if you must call it that, may well be part of taking up our cross daily and following Him who is the Light of the World.

I am firmly convicted, that given all these facts and our historical stand, that part of the Christian church should be, no! Must be, The Salvation Army.