Central Lutheran Church - Elk River
Weekly sermons from our Central Lutheran Church preaching team plus quick reflections from Pastor Ryan Braley.
Real talk, ancient wisdom, and honest questions — all designed to help you learn, grow, and find encouragement when you need it most.
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Central Lutheran Church - Elk River
#99 - Should Christians Drink? Exploring Faith's Gray Areas {Reflections}
Ever found yourself wondering about the boundaries of Christian living? In this thought-provoking episode, Ryan tackles the frequently asked question "Should Christians drink alcohol?" – but quickly reveals that the real issue runs much deeper than a simple yes or no answer.
What begins as a specific inquiry about alcohol consumption transforms into a profound exploration of our relationship with substances, habits, and potential idols in our lives. Rather than offering a rigid rulebook, Ryan provides a framework for honest self-examination. He challenges listeners to consider whether their habits produce life or non-life, freedom or bondage, and how these choices impact not just themselves but their families and communities.
Drawing from biblical wisdom, Ryan unpacks Paul's perspective that "all things are lawful, but not everything is beneficial." This nuanced approach invites us to move beyond legalistic thinking and toward discernment that prioritizes both personal wellbeing and the wellbeing of others. The conversation expands beyond alcohol to consider our relationships with everything from marijuana and caffeine to work and even religious performance – anything that might secretly rule our lives.
By the end of this episode, you'll have valuable tools for examining your own habits with brutal honesty and compassion. Whether you're wrestling with specific questions about substance use or simply seeking to live with greater intentionality, this conversation offers wisdom that transcends simple prohibitions and embraces the fullness of life Jesus promised. Share this episode with someone who might benefit from a fresh perspective on Christian freedom and responsibility.
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What is up everybody? Hey, it's Ryan here. Welcome to our Reflections podcast. And this week I actually had a question from somebody that was asking about this and I was like I'll address it on the podcast. But and I should mention too, I'll address it on the podcast and I should mention too there's a number of people that might hear this and think, oh my gosh, she's talking about me. But I really am not talking about any particular person. It's one person and this question comes up a lot in Christian circles. So this is not about any specific person.
Speaker 1:But the question is this should Christians drink alcohol? And this is asked a lot on, like these, you know, and different kinds of you know Q&A type, you know conversations online and whatever. But anyway, the question is, yeah, should Christians drink alcohol? And here's the deal. The question behind the question is really something more like what kinds of things should Christians do and what kinds of things should we avoid? And so, in the same vein, some people might ask can Christians smoke weed or consume marijuana? What about psychedelics or other type things like this, nootropics and whatnot? So, yeah, the thing behind the thing is what does it mean to be a Christian and how should we behave in the world. There's also, if we're honest, some bit of us when we ask this like, hey, what, what can I do and kind of still be in. You know what I mean. Like some people are asking, hey, can I do this and still like be included in whatever, the, you know, the being a Christian or whatever. And it's like what can I do and still kind of be in. So, okay, I'll talk about the alcohol first and then the alcohol is kind of like a small picture of the whole thing and maybe we can land on some ways to address all the things that we do in our life.
Speaker 1:But in the Bible the Bible doesn't really talk about should you or should you not drink alcohol per se. It does talk a lot about drunkenness, like in the Bible, a number of times drunkenness is addressed and the Bible says like, basically, don't engage in drunkenness and drunken behavior. But you should also notice when it talks about drunkenness and like a drunken you know being drunk it's like talking about a lifestyle of drunkenness, because it often will pair with this warning, like warnings about other things too, like envy and thieving or stealing and greedy behavior and orgies, believe it or not, and greedy people and swindlers, and so it's sort of like incorporating all of these into this sort of pot of a person who's kind of gone off the rails in almost every single way and their whole life is like this life of debauchery and you'd look at them and go, oh my gosh, like that person's gone off the rails. And so the Bible it's talks a lot about like life versus non-life. And Jesus, for example, came to give you life and life to the full. And in the Old Testament, in the Hebrew Bible, the laws were a way for the people to behave that produced life, and these were like general laws. There's a bunch of them but, like you know, in the 10 commandments, for example, like don't steal, you know, don't murder. These are things that actually help foster life, creativity and social belonging and collaboration, these kinds of things. And so Jesus comes. He's like I came to give life.
Speaker 1:And when you look at a person whose life is sort of characterized by, I don't know, envy and drunkenness and orgies and thieving and greedy behavior and swindling, like these things generally lead to non-life. Now we can argue about whether or not it's fun in the moment or are there certain elements that are kind of energizing. But if we all did this, life would be chaotic and really it would be like some sort of non-life. But here's, I don't know. Here's the question that I ask a lot when I'm asked this question Like hey, ryan, can I drink alcohol, even if I'm not being drunk or living this life of drunken, can I drink alcohol? Or can I use marijuana, can I use psychedelics, and these kinds of questions. And I would say, here's the thing that I always want to like sort of peel back the layers and figure out. And what I would ask was like hey, what do you think your relationship is like with that thing? Like, what is your relationship like with alcohol? And when you drink, what's that relationship like? Like we all have these relationships with these things and it's like a give and take. And what is it like? Why do you drink? What is it doing for you?
Speaker 1:And I think a number of folks I know would qualify their relationship with alcohol, many of them anyway, not all of them, but they would say it's probably not good. You know, like they might say that the alcohol in some ways has a grip on them. You know, I know that people say, oh, I could stop anytime I want to, or I could quit whenever I want, but a lot of folks really couldn't, you know. You know here's. I might also ask, like, does it have a grip on you? Does it? Do you shape your day around it? Do you long for or look forward to the weekend just so you can drink? Might you change your plans because of this thing? Would you not go out because you're like I want to just stay home and drink, or I'll go there if they have alcohol, or I won't go there because they don't have alcohol?
Speaker 1:Do you have alcohol or does the alcohol have you? Has it become a God in your life? If you're brutally like, gut-wrenchingly honest, has alcohol become this god in your life in which your whole life becomes a circle and center around this thing? If that's the case, then it's really an unhealthy relationship with alcohol. Like, do you feel like you need to drink?
Speaker 1:And also you might ask when you're drinking, are you drinking to kind of check in or to check? When you're drinking, are you drinking to kind of check in or to check out? Are you drinking and many of us do this like, are you drinking to numb out or, like the song says, to drown your sorrows? Because, like you too said your sorrows, will eventually learn to swim. But are you drinking to try to be somebody you're not, or like? Maybe you could ask how am I when I drink? How do my friends perceive me when I'm drinking? Do they get nervous around me? Does my spouse get nervous? Are my kids nervous when they watch me drink? And then I would ask what is the fruit of all of it? And so you could ask all these questions about any of these things.
Speaker 1:Ask all these questions about any of these things psychedelics, or using marijuana, or drinking or tobacco, or even nootropics, or things like sex or coffee. I mean, coffee is a stimulant. Coffee is considered a drug. I mean, caffeine is an incredibly mood-altering substance, but what's our relationship like with coffee and caffeine, or sweets, or working out at the gym, or being a super good Christian? You know, some of us get high off of that. I mean, our life revolves around. Revolves around being a really good person. All of these things can become idols in our lives, that kind of rule over us, and I'm just telling you this is not freedom, this is bondage, this is not the abundant life that Jesus came to give us, and so, rather than giving one pat of answer for all of these.
Speaker 1:I don't know if it's good for you to drink alcohol or not. I have no idea. What's it mean for you? What is it like in your life? Does your life revolve around it? Does your family get nervous when you do it? Would you alter your plans to just include it or not include it? Has it become an idol or a god in your own life, and do you need it? Does it like? Numb out something in you that you because here's the thing often we will numb out certain emotions or feelings because we don't want to feel them, and sometimes those emotions, those feelings, have a message for us. There's a thing in there that we need to learn about ourselves or about life, and when we numb out, we miss that message. And so why are you drinking? Why do you need to do it so badly? Paul, I love this.
Speaker 1:In 1 Corinthians, paul says this. Paul, I love this. In 1 Corinthians, paul says this he says that all things are lawful what he said but not everything is beneficial. So all things are lawful, but not all things build up. No one should seek their own good, but the good of others. I love that. Here's what the message. So Eugene Peterson says it this way. He says, hey, looking at it, one way you could say this is Eugene Peterson, anything goes Really Anything, eugene or Paul but he says anything goes because of God's immense generosity and grace. We don't have to dissect and scrutinize every action to see if it passes muster. But the point is not to just get by. We want to live well and our foremost efforts should be able to help others live well also. So that's it, I love it. Uh, paul says all things are lawful, like really anything's game, and it's on the table, but not everything's beneficial.
Speaker 1:So, yeah, you can drink alcohol, it's you can. According to the law, you can drink. But but is it beneficial and does it help build up others around you? Some you might say, yes, oh great, then it's probably fine for you to do that. Others might be like, no, I don't. Or maybe you have a recovering alcoholic as a good friend or a spouse and you're like, no, I'm going to not drink because they're not drinking and I don't want to knock them off the wagon.
Speaker 1:And so those are all really important questions to ask about all the things in our life that we might possibly be addicted to. So that's it. I think that's the answer. What's good for you, what's good for your soul, what's good for your community, your family, your friendships, for those watching you live your life, what helps others?
Speaker 1:Now look, one quick caveat. There are some things that I think just are not good to touch. I'll name a couple just so you can kind of have an idea. Things like heroin, you know. I mean I think it's just for like almost across the board. It's a negative net in your life to like you should avoid heroin or pornography or an open marriage.
Speaker 1:These are things that can really damage relationships and these are not good for you or for other people. They're kind of like these are just generally I've not really heard a good argument for them and so. But there are other things that are not quite as on the edge of the line there You've got to kind of wrestle with them. But I would say, do it honestly, be honest with yourself and ask your family and your friends and ask them hey, what is it like and what do you see in me? And ask yourself these questions and be brutally, gut-wrenchingly honest about these things. All right, I hope that helps. Love you guys, peace. Hey, if you enjoy this show. I'd love to have you share it with some friends. And don't forget, you are always welcome to join us in person at Central in Elk River at 8.30, which is our liturgical gathering, or at 10 o'clock, our modern gathering. Or you can check us out online at clcelkriverorg Peace.
