Waking Up Sober – Oh What a Feeling!
“If you want to fly free like a bird, don’t drink like a fish.” Photo of Whistling Kite by Maurice Ashton.
When we read Prov 20: 1 we often get into “Adventist Thinking Mode” and write a “Theology for Teetotaling” to justify our position. I would like to take a different approach because there are an increasing number of people outside the church who are assessing their drinking habits and making lifestyle changes.
These articles are from Australia and NZ respectively and are worth reading because they are examples of people who have taken charge of their lives again. Both articles have a series of reader comments at the end that add to the value of the articles:
Anna Williams: I won’t be ‘that girl’ any more
These folk have no temperance axe to grind, and no religious belief to justify their actions. They simply decided that there was something wrong with the way they were drinking alcohol and decided to take action.
The insidious fact about alcohol is that a social drink now and then often becomes a way of life seven days a week. In my extended family there are several members who started off with a glass of wine or beer at a work function occasionally. They are now “unwinding” with alcohol every weekend and using it during the week to help them cope. Stopping now seems like an enormously difficult problem.
In thinking about the issue of alcohol in the Seventh-day Adventist church membership I though that rather than quoting our theology of abstinence (most of us know it already) it may be worth telling stories of recovery. We know there is a problem, but I am sure that there are stories to be told of those who have recovered to give hope to those who are still struggling.
If you have a story to tell, please do tell it. This is one time when you may want to us a pseudonym, particularly if the story is personal. [Just let us know at the top of your comment. We will delete your note to us before publication.]
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