The Drinking Sermon

Apparently Pastor Perry Noble spoke about alcohol today. I've not yet watched it, but from his Cliff Notes (see the link below) he's pretty much coming from where I am.

But, I want to update my Drinking blog entry. I don't drink (this is not a challenge, Satan!) anymore, but after a lot more thought about it, it's not quite what I said in my blog entry on the topic. What I said there was:

"I am a binge drinker, which is a nuanced difference from being an alcoholic. Fundamentally, though, I can't enjoy a beer with dinner. I want them all, however many are in my fridge."

This isn't really true. I can think back and remember plenty of times I only had one or two, or opened a third and found it sitting on the counter the next morning. There were days, too, that I just left them in the fridge and didn't bother with them at all. So, I spent some time trying to figure out exactly what the problem was. It's this: I didn't know, couldn't plan, WHEN I would want to drink them all. Pastor Noble (he's not my pastor, but apparently my pastor knows him), said that the Bible teaches that we shouldn't get drunk period. I'm not sure I agree with that. I think the general state of being a drunk is the problem that the Bible refers to (at least to my recollection). Being drunk isn't a good lifestyle choice, but if you get a buzz now and then ("eat, drink and be merry"), I don't think you're getting a "Going to Hell" stamped on your forehead. Of course, if you have your salvation, nothing is supposed to stop that anyway.

So, for me, I'd go weeks or months and never get drunk, perhaps not even a little tipsy. But, there were days, oh those dreadful days... and I could never plan them. I couldn't say "great, it's Friday, tomorrow I can sleep in, if I get hammered tonight I can sleep off the hangover." Nope. It was a lottery anytime I opened a beer, no matter the day of the week or how big of a day I had tomorrow. Maybe it'd just be the one, maybe it'd be all of them, and a few more following a walk to the store. Then, there'd be the hangover, the prayers & promises, then regret.

In 1996 my second father had his second heart attack. This dude's really healthy; he loves to hike, hunt, canoe, walk, work around the house, garden. He's never smoked and rarely drinks (sometimes he and Mom split a beer -- SPLIT A BEER!!! If only I could wrap my brain around this. Sure enough, they could split one and I'd probably drink the rest).

Anyway, following his 2nd heart attack, back in 1996, his doctors told him he had to do this and that to lower his cholesterol and save his arteries. Like I said, he was healthy, including eating well (rarely ate fast food, liked veggies & salads, that sort of thing). His genetics just gave him bad arteries. His response? Cut out the fat. All of it. He went vegan-plus. No meat, no nuts, no seeds. At restaurants he gets a big huge salad and vinegar/vinegrette for the dressing. It's impressive how much he can eat and still lose weight. But, the thing is, he just couldn't eat a little fat and rely on not going overboard. He had to do without it period. That's for me, for alcohol. My wife has a drink now and then (she gets pretty interesting at 1/2 a drink, so 1 is plenty). I'm not against it for her, or for you, but I am for me.

If you have a problem like me, you might think about stopping altogether, though. You know what, you won't miss it. If you do, you'll be glad you stopped because if you really miss it, you should just stop.