Really? Wow! Let me get a glass of wine, then.

That’s how it started. It was Thanksgiving at Dad’s, and I was trying to seriously lighten up. I’d been struggling with legalism, with condemnation in the flesh, with being way too hard on myself and failing miserably at all the goals I was setting for myself. So I came to the conclusion that the reason I was struggling and failing was that all my behavior was too intense and I needed to let go of some of my "religious preoccupations." So I allowed myself the liberty of having some wine.

The first time I heard a pastor clearly state that alcohol wasn\’t a sin (or the first time I paid any attention to it) was pastor Damon Horton (aka Azriel) in an online sermon about running the Christian race. This was my justification throughout my walk with alcohol. I conveniently ignored the context of his statement, of course. But back to that later.

I got comfortable with alcohol, to the point that I was drinking at home for relaxation. I wasn’t getting drunk, but I was pushing the limit and blurring the lines. Whether drinking alone is a sin or not, the point is my mind was definitely not on glorifying God. I was looking for an occasion to indulge the flesh. After a while I got clear of excessive drinking, and was only drinking beer, mainly for the taste and the low alcohol content. And I would usually have no more than two. I think in this, I was not sinning. My beer of choice was Sam Adams. I was even emboldened enough in my habit to put Sam Adams’ as a fan page on my facebook profile, despite the fact that all my Christian colleagues were able to see it.

While I don’t think I was sinning by enjoying a beer, I think I was in a state of sin just by having the wrong mindset. I used to be adamantly against alcohol, simply because I thought a Christian should be zealous to serve God above all. Now I’d come so far and been so weakened that instead of looking for reasons to deprive myself of unnecessary pleasures, I was looking for reasons to indulge them. I’m reminded of Jesus’ words in revelation to the church at Ephesus: "You have left your first love."

And back to Azriel’s statement about alcohol. The sermon was about running the race of Christianity and letting nothing hinder us. An athlete goes into extreme training as he prepares to try and win a meaningless ring, or belt, or trophy that will pass away. If an athlete will shun every pleasure only for a fading crown, shall we not shun anything foolish or petty or unnecessary in order to win the crown of life? Isn’t impacting the world around us worth our abstaining from problematic pleasures like alcohol? Azriel’s statement was that yes, alcohol was okay, but just because that is so doesn’t mean we go out and indulge. Our mindset should be, how can I give more of myself to God, not how can I enjoy pleasures more.

Friends, if we have come to the point in our walk when we are questioning "is this really wrong?" "Is that really wrong?" We may not be sinning in those questions, but we need to see that our mindset may be shifting from one of total devotion to selfless service to Christ, to trying to justify pleasures that really have no lasting value. And that is a scary place to be, once you realize you’ve gone there.

Let’s be like soldiers, whose only concern in life is avoiding civilian affairs in order to better serve their captain. Or let’s be like athletes, who make no qualms about having no social life, simply so they can be better prepared to play that big game and win that trophy. We are soldiers and athletes for Christ, attempting to win the eternal reward of Jesus Christ. Let’s get close to God and gain back our first love, and remember the times when we would not only live, but gladly die for our Father. And let us make our mission in life to win others to the same mindset.

For this cause, I have said "bye bye Sam Adams!"

-Matt