Daniel’s thoughts:
I feel that my “Alcohol and Jesus” blog post needed some further discussion and perhaps needed more balance. So I decided to reblog Rodney Hunts post “What does the Bible teach about alcohol?” because I found his blog to be thoughtful and centered on the real issue – the bigger picture – as a believer in Jesus. It is not about whether we are free to drink alcohol and all the discussion about “how much is too much” etc… but rather to ask ourselves, “how can we love others and respect where people are at? How can we respect their conscience and not offend them if we choose to drink responsibly to the glory of God or choose to never to drink again to the glory of God?
As with every freedom and gift God gives, it requires responsibility and discretion from us. Responsibility not to abuse the gift or exalt the gift above the giver. Discretion not to offend the “weaker brother” (as the Scriptures put it) who still views alcohol only as something dark and sinful.
Lastly, I wanted to share this response to my blog which I thought was pretty amazing and centered me back onto the big picture:
“For me Daniel, this life we live with Christ is not about liberty, I’m a slave in chains to the Gospel of Christ. It’s not about liberty for me, it’s about love. Paul spoke very eloquently about the effects/affects of abusing our liberty. I’m not going to be religious by quoting Scripture and writing things everyone already knows and essentially rejects because they want to prove their liberty. I’m so in love with my God and His Christ, who is also my Lord/Savior, that I don’t want anything or anyone to come in between us. And, I also don’t want to approach the day of Christ stumbling or causing others to stumble because of my own determination to exert liberty this side of heaven. The liberty I want to prove here on earth, won’t matter one iota when I get to heaven. The whole world is looking for something or someone who is true, Jesus Christ was true, and we don’t seem to get it that as long as we live just like the world trying to balance on the tight rope of liberty, the world rejects us as not true. I’ve lived most of what you shared, broken home, broken relationships, substance abuse, sexual promiscuity, the whole nine, but I tell you this today, it was the love of God that changed everything for me and I am now magnificently obsessed with Him. And, I wouldn’t want to be a slave to anything or anyone else, including liberty. These are just my thoughts my heart no condemnation on anyone else, my choice in this life. I appreciate you sharing your thoughts on how the Holy Spirit dealt with you about alcohol. He is the greatest individual teacher and I thank God for giving us such a help. He knew how much we would need Him.”
Daniel Lovett 