Good friends are like a fine wine….o wait, except for the fact that we aren’t allowed to drink. See, I was raised in a Christian home that also drank. I always thought drinking wasn’t a sin unless you got drunk; that was until I married a pastor that was part of another denomination. I was informed while we were engaged that drinking was not something to be done or even talked about. It was such an interesting transition for me as I was navigating new waters into this world as a pastors wife and what I was allowed to do and talk about and not. This one really threw me for a loop and when it came up in conversation when people asked about the subject it was also a hold your breath moment. I once heard a person in leadership say, “If it takes you 6 drinks to get drunk and you have 1 drink then you are 1/6 of the way drunk”. Now this really perplexed me because for some reason we had lots of people that struggled with the sin of gluttony and yet we weren’t addressing that issue from the pulpit. So my question that I would ask (myself of course) is if it takes you 6 cheese burgers to be a glutton and you eat 1 cheese burger – are you 1/6 of the way a glutton? Well of course not. Because that logic is asinine.
So, I have a glass of wine in private with my closest friends. Now, please don’t misunderstand me, if you have a brother or sister in Christ who struggles with alcoholism – don’t drink in front of them. That is what Paul was referring to in Romans 14 about not leading a brother to stumble. Jesus turned water into wine. He wouldn’t have done that if it was sinful. Jesus didn’t do this to cause us to sin; in fact He did the exact opposite. So why, for all the wine in Italy…. are we completely abstaining from alcohol? Because it’s legalism. And friends, legalism is not what Jesus is about. Not even for a hot second! He came into the world and brought grace, not rules. So sit back, have a glass of wine (unless you struggle with it) and relax. It’s going to be ok.
Sincerely,
The Inappropriate Pastors Wife
The Inappropriate Pastor's Wife 
The command not to cause a brother to stumble involves more than tempting someone who has a problem with alcoholism. Someone who thinks something is wrong sins if he does it, and we could tempt a brother to do this. We could also cause someone to sin by condemning us.
I agree that there is nothing wrong with using a little alcohol, but I attend a church that believes all use of alcohol is wrong. Because of this I avoid any use of alcohol because I can never know if using it might lead another Christian into sin.
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Clyde, I appreciate your thoughts and heart. Thanks for sharing. I struggle with the legalization part of it. I understand the desire to not want to cause a brother to stumble, but when people start becoming legalistic with it, I think it starts becoming an idol. Just my thoughts. Thanks again for commenting. Feel free to share this blog!
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