9 Reasons I Don’t Drink Alcohol (And I Think No Christian Should)

Alcohol is a fixture in American culture. College, weddings, children’s birthday parties, holidays, weekends, and five o’clock are all typical events for drinking. At this point, people expect everyone to drink. If I turn down a bottle of water, then my refusal goes unnoticed. On the other hand, if I politely decline a beer, the host looks at me like I’ve grown an arm out of my forehead. I don’t drink alcohol, and my sobriety has been the most offensive thing about my life in Christ. And that’s saying something… You should check out some other “offensive” posts I’ve written.

The Reaction When I Don’t Drink Alcohol

I’m quite free with my opinions on this blog because it’s my blog, and my whole purpose of writing is to share my thoughts about living a set-apart life for Christ as a Christian woman. In the real world, though, I don’t share every opinion I have with those around me. This is especially true if I think it will offend someone. Believe it or not, I’m not trying to make enemies, ladies. However, when I reveal that I do not drink, I get three basic negative responses.

“You’re Just A Legalist!”

First, Christians look at me as if I am a legalist. Let’s be clear about legalism compared to my abstinence from alcohol. I’m not legalistic because I don’t see the Law or rule-following as above the gospel. Jesus saves, not sobriety. I do not think my choice makes me holier, and I do not believe others must refrain from drinking to be Christians. I think they shouldn’t drink, but what does that matter? It’s my opinion. My choice to avoid alcohol is not a command for you to follow my lead.

One more thing. This name-calling and anger when I don’t drink alcohol makes me suspicious that the person might be hiding something. You know what I mean? Is there an alcohol issue to discuss?

“It Sounds Like You’ve Got A Problem With Drinking.”

The second reaction I receive when I tell someone I don’t drink alcohol is to attribute my decision to having a personal problem. This pushes the entire notion of sobriety onto my plate because of my perceived weakness rather than dealing with the idea that it might be a good lifestyle for everyone.  

Full disclosure: I definitely drank hard and too often before I was saved. I also have a family history of alcoholism. However, those are not the only reasons I quit drinking. My initial reason was simply a strong conviction from the Lord. Even if I did have major alcohol-related issues, though, it doesn’t negate the possibility that other people may be better off abstaining. This isn’t a Julie issue. It’s an everyone issue.

“So, You Think You Are Better Than Me.”

The third kind of reaction I get when I reveal I do not drink alcohol is an accusation that I am judging that person. Sometimes, I have only refused a drink, saying nothing more, and the person feels like I have passed a great judgment regarding their life.

I’m allowed to live out my faith my way, and similarly, you are free to do life your way. Disagreement is not judgment. Disagreement is not judgment.

Why I Don’t Drink Alcohol

I do not drink alcohol for a lot of reasons. I’ve categorized them to make a short list. There are nine general reasons I don’t drink alcohol. Yes, they are my reasons for why I myself have chosen to abstain from alcohol. That said, I think these reasons hold for all Christians, and each believer should think and pray about how she should approach alcohol in her walk with the Lord.

1. Alcohol Is Not Good For My Body

I know there are studies that suggest drinking a glass of red wine a day can be good for your health. Something similar has been reported about dark chocolate. These studies, though encouraging for those of us who want to indulge in our weaknesses, are not overwhelmingly convincing. Some reports suggest the studies are flat our wrong. Needless to say, we are faced with conflicting reports.

What if we didn’t need new, flashy studies? Is there already a mountain of evidence concerning the effects of alcohol on the human body? Why, yes. Yes, there is!

The Mountain Of Evidence Against Alcohol

We all know the short-term effects of alcohol, I think. People experience dehydration, headache, hangover, slowed reflexes, and impaired judgment for starters.

Long-term effects can be much more severe. Alcohol can increase inflammation in the body. One of inflammation’s more well-known consequences is scarring of the liver called cirrhosis. This is what killed my mother. In addition, sugar issues can arise as a result from drinking alcohol, such as hypoglycemia, hyperglycemia, and diabetes.

Other long-term effects include unwanted weight gain or loss, anxiety, a weakened immune system, mental health conditions (e.g., depression, anxiety disorder, bipolar disorder, etc.), and alcoholism.

Drinking alcohol doesn’t seem worth the risks involved. What good is alcohol really doing stacked up against all the damage it inflicts?

2. I Cannot Be Sober-Minded When I Consume Alcohol

A sober-minded person is serious and sensible. Of course, that doesn’t mean that they can’t have fun, too. But there is a significant difference between having fun and being unable to think critically and make sound judgments. Why am I so concerned about being sober-minded? Because God is. So, I don’t drink alcohol in order to be obedient to God’s Word concerning this area of my life.

“The end of all things is at hand; therefore be self-controlled and sober-minded for the sake of your prayers.”

1 Peter 4:7

“Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.”

1 Peter 5:8

“As for you, always be sober-minded, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.”

2 Timothy 4:5

3. Alcohol Alters My Mental State

Alcohol is a depressant. It brings your mood down, even if you’re feeling high as a kite for a little bit. We are instructed to rejoice in the Lord (Philippians 4:4), yet alcohol won’t bring us any closer to that joy. Proverbs put things into perspective, though jarringly.

“A joyful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.”

Proverbs 17:22

Alcohol also makes me more uninhibited with poor judgment. As a result, I am more likely to sin with my tongue, be immodest, be unfaithful, and have a poor Christian witness.

Now that I don’t drink alcohol, I don’t ever wake up wondering if I did anything the night before that caused damaging consequences or embarrassment.

4. Even Unbelievers Know It’s Weird When Christians Drink Alcohol

I don’t recommend using unbelievers as your guide to life, but sometimes their reactions to us can clue us in on some important things. Right now, it’s hugely popular to blend in with the world. We want the community to see us as one of them. With a drink in hand, we certainly blend in. In fact, we become indistinguishable.

Mixed Message

My gospel witness loses its strength when I drink alcohol. Unbelievers look at me, a Christian, and see an outward contradiction. Alcohol, like it or not, is associated with drunkenness and other unseemly behavior. That is the picture I present to an unsaved person when I drink as a Christian.

The message we send when we have a Bible in one hand and a beer in the other is, “Jesus is not enough.”

Set Yourself Apart

Blending in with the world around us seems like a great way to impact others for Christ, but it ends up just fitting us into the mold the rest of the world is in. Where is the separation? Why would anyone be drawn to the gospel when we seemingly offer nothing different than the world already gives out?

“But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.”

1 Peter 2:9-10

Be different. Stand apart from the world. You are holy, so act like it.

5. Alcohol Is Not Good For The Family

Because I don’t drink alcohol anymore, I feel like I don’t fit into my extended family. They drink at most parties and get-togethers, and I don’t have that bond through alcohol with them anymore. I used to, though, but it wasn’t a real bond. It was a temporary fix for feeling unwelcome in my family, and it never made it better.

I’ve watched and participated in some drinking among family over the years, and I have witnessed arguments, harsh words, inappropriate flirting, and violence. Alcohol has nearly destroyed some of my relatives’ lives, and it literally killed my mother.

Your family may not have a drinking rap sheet like mine, but the probability that alcohol has truly improved a family is pretty much zilch. If you use alcohol as a crutch to deal with hard things, then you might feel like your family has improved. But that crutch won’t bear the weight forever, and it will likely do more damage before you finally deal with the problems.

6. I Don’t Want To Flirt With Sin

“Abstain from every form of evil.”

1 Thessalonians 5:22

“But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires.”

Romans 13:14

To abstain is not only to not engage in the sin, it is also to create distance between oneself and sin, according to Precept Austin. If I consume alcohol and/or spend time in places where alcohol is one of the centerpieces of the environment, I am not creating enough distance between myself and the sins that often accompany alcohol. In fact, I am opposing Romans 13:14 by making provision for my flesh.

I knew a Christian woman once who, while saving herself for marriage, opted to spend the night at her boyfriend’s house after having a particularly emotional day. She came home the next morning in the same clothing as the night before, hopped in the shower, and then headed off to church with her parents.

She said she didn’t engage in fornication, and I believed her. But, you guys, what a dangerously unwise decision! There was no one there to prevent an emotionally vulnerable woman from giving in to her very normal sexual feelings toward her boyfriend (who told her he needed her to spiritually lead him because she was a stronger Christian).

Similarly, alcohol can open us up to a whole host of sins if we let our guard down. You might just plan to have one slow glass of wine over dinner, but that easily becomes a bottle or a glass followed by a couple of shots. I’m not willing to open that door.

7. Alcohol Is Used To Deal With Pain

I was a school social worker, and my days were long and filled with difficult administrators, challenging teachers, overworked support staff, and sad stories. I “needed” a drink as soon as I got home to decompress. On weekends, I had more than just a drink or two. In fact, I set out to be as numb and fun as I could be until I returned to work on Monday.

This “need” became nothing but a memory after I was saved. I started coming home, curling up on the couch, and opening my Bible. God cleared my head and offered peace and joy unlike anything my Jack and Coke could provide. During this transition from putting my trust in alcohol to relying on the Word, certain verses began to jump out at me. It was becoming clear to me that He can be trusted to care for us and see us through. He is enough.

“Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.”

Psalm 23:4

“do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

Philippians 4:6-7

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.”

Proverbs 3:5-6

8. My Biggest Regrets Involve Alcohol

Alcohol didn’t bring out my best. It fed my flesh, instead. When I drank, I was my most manipulative, crass, unfaithful, sloppy, selfish, and vain. God is so good to forgive me, but I haven’t forgotten the things I’ve done and said or the relationships I torched. And although I don’t live in the regret, those memories return on occasion, and I relive the shame and embarrassment all over again.

I don’t drink alcohol anymore, but the consequences and shame live on. Without alcohol, I would have far less regret in my past.

9. Drunkenness Is A Sin

I can already hear you. “I don’t get drunk.” I believe you, but you’re also not telling the truth…

Here’s what I mean. You might not intend to get drunk. You might not get drunk 99.99% of the time you drink alcohol. But if you are a drinker, you have undoubtedly gotten drunk. Some drinks sneak up on a person. One moment we’re sober, the next we can hardly string together a coherent sentence.

Also, if you aren’t getting drunk but still insist on drinking, then I can’t help but wonder why you continue to insist on it if there’s nothing in it for you. Is it the buzz? You know, it’s that slight intoxication before reaching drunkenness. If so, I urge you to stop seeing how close you can get to sin without crossing over into it.

Part of why I don’t drink alcohol is because I know how easy it is to become drunk. I have no interest in playing games with sin. There are enough temptations without setting myself up with more.

The Bible On Drunkenness

“Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit,”

Ephesians 5:17-18

This verse pits wine and the Spirit against one another. You can’t be filled with both.

“Wine is a mocker, strong drink a brawler, and whoever is led astray by it is not wise.”

Proverbs 20:1

This is not a glowing recommendation for alcohol consumption. It mocks, rages, and deceives…

“Let us walk properly as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and sensuality, not in quarreling and jealousy.”

Romans 13:13

God’s negative view of drunkenness is clear by the words He associated with it. Additionally, drunkenness is contrasted with walking honestly. That has serious implications about excessive drinking.

“For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk, are drunk at night. But since we belong to the day, let us be sober, having put on the breastplate of faith and love, and for a helmet the hope of salvation.”

1 Thessalonians 5:7-8

Again, we see a contrast. Believers are “of the day.” We are sober, and we gave faith, love, and salvation. On the flipside, there are the drunken who live in the darkness.

“ Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.”

1 Corinthians 6:9-11

Drunkenness is no small matter. Check out the list of sins it sits among! Drunkards are listed with the unrighteous and will not be with the Lord. But take heart because Paul reminds his audience, believers, that they were once among those listed. However, they were born again and freed from the bondage of those sins.

Final Thought

Whether or not to drink alcohol is a personal decision. Most Christians in America roll their eyes at someone like me and continue on their way. I know it’s unpopular to abstain from alcohol, and plenty of pastors regularly engage in social drinking. I’m asking you to forget about all of them. Forget about me, too. Investigate the Scriptures for guidance and let the Holy Spirit direct your decision.

I don’t drink alcohol, and I feel more strongly with each passing day that this choice is good for me and would be good for Christians, in general. Yes, we can drink, but the question is should we drink? I land squarely in the “no” category on this issue.

“All things are lawful for me, but not all things are helpful. All things are lawful for me, but I will not be dominated by anything.”

1 Corinthians 6:12

Do you think Christians should drink? Have you seen alcohol create problems in someone’s life?

Image courtesy of Kelsey Knight vis Unsplash.