The Glory of God, Alcohol, and My Brother in Christ
Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. (1 Corinthians 10:31)
I have been preaching a series through the Book of Proverbs recently, and I finally got to the subject of social drinking. Proverbs has a lot to say on the subject. The language is clear. I tried so carefully to be faithful to the text and our past and present historical context. But none of that will be effective if we do not approach the word of God with a sense of submission and selflessness. Selflessness before God and before others is a vital aspect of New Testament Christianity. Without understanding 1 Corinthians 10:31, I will not approach the Proverbs passages in a truly spiritual manner.
The misunderstanding of “doing all to the glory of God.”
Usually, 1 Corinthians 10:31 is applied in two ways–in a moral or a commitment context. Neither application exactly honors the biblical process of thought in 1 Corinthians 10. Morally we tend to say that nothing we do is morally neutral. Every aspect of life must be characterized by some moral quality and If I cannot say “glory to God” as I do it, I should not do it. This is not exactly what the passage is talking about. I am not saying the truth itself is not biblical. I think I can make that argument from the “prove all things” command in 1 Thessalonians 5:22.
The commitment application usually is something like “give everything your absolute all, because everything you do must be to the glory of God.” At a Christian camp, it is usually shouted by the leader of the Red Team as he seeks to annihilate the Blue Team by any spiritual means necessary.
The Corinthians context.
The context in 1 Corinthians 10 to the “do all to the glory of God” command is about meat offered to idols and the potential of doing spiritual damage to my brother or sister in Christ. Doing all to the glory of God is about being careful of the offended conscience of a brother or sister in Christ, or placing a stumbling block in front of them that might lead them to sin.
The following verse says,
Give no offense, either to the Jews or to the Greeks or to the church of God, just as I also please all men in all things, not seeking my own profit, but the profit of many, that they may be saved.
This is not about offending people as we normally think of the word, but rather causing them to offend or to sin. It’s about not creating barriers to the cause of Christ and the Great Commission.
I should be willing to give up anything that might cause another to stumble into sin. There are lots of applications of this passage, but one of them is clearly the use of alcohol as a beverage. I pastor a church where many have been saved from a life of addictions. They all know that as little as one drink could put them on the disastrous path back to addiction and destruction. Drinking is a social activity. If you drink alone, you have a deeper problem. Why would I engage in a social activity that could possibly be so destructive to these people who are so precious to my Lord and to me?
Let me put it this way. Imagine you had a child who has by the grace of God overcome a history of alcoholism and addiction. Now imagine your pastor or other spiritual leader invites them to their home and offers them alcohol under the guise of Christian liberty. How would that make you feel? So then, what does God think about it if I do the same thing to one of His precious, blood-bought children? He loves His children more than I could possibly love mine.
What about my own children? One article says that 1 in 10 people who drink heavily are alcoholics, while another study says that 1 in 8 of all Americans struggle with alcohol abuse. One of those articles is wrong, but what is clear is that the danger to people who have never been drinkers before is huge. I have no desire to lead my children or grandchildren by my behavior to addiction and abuse—even if the odds are “only” one in ten. I would never hand my grandchild a revolver with a round in one of the chambers and teach them how to play Russian Roulette. Why would I encourage them to drink which could lead to the destruction of their lives and their families? The odds are very similar. The pleasure of the moment is not even close to worth it.
There are many other biblical reasons to avoid alcoholic beverages, but this is one of the most important reasons. My love for God and my love for my brother in Christ will curtail my choices which are solely about “my own profit (or enjoyment)”.
I have to ask myself this important question. Am I a committed slave of my Lord Jesus Christ, determined to please Him in everything I do, or am I about my own profit, seeking to game the system to my best ability so that I can get what I want within the rules?
I am not trying to be judgmental here. This is the question that I ask myself all the time about lots of things. It’s one of the things that you must do when you are a pastor—or any kind of spiritual leader.
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