photo by: delphaber

Last week I wrote about saying the phrase, “I need a beer.”  Then a few days ago, I came across this passage in my morning reading.

Who has woe? Who has sorrow?

Who has strife? Who has complaining?

Who has wounds without cause?

Who has redness of eyes?

Those who tarry long over wine;

those who go to try mixed wine.

Do not look at wine when it is red,

when it sparkles in the cup

and goes down smoothly.

In the end it bites like a serpent

and stings like an adder.

Your eyes will see strange things,

and your heart utter perverse things.

You will be like one who lies down in the midst of the sea,

like one who lies on the top of a mast.

“They struck me,” you will say, “but I was not hurt;

they beat me, but I did not feel it.

When shall I awake?

I must have another drink.”

(Proverbs 23:29-35 ESV)

photo by: mecredis

Sometimes it’s the smallest phrases that can show some of our deepest sins.  I think this is the case with the phrase, “I need a beer.”  We’ve all experienced one of those days where everything seems to go wrong.  You wake up late (or too early), there’s no hot water in the shower, there’s no milk for cereal (worst, it’s sour), you’re bombarded with problems at work, you forget to take your lunch (or don’t even have time to eat it), your car has a flat, your mugged by a band of gypsies, a meteor falls from the sky and destroys your house, and your shoe laces break when you’re tying them.  You get home from work to your burning crater in the ground and utter the words, “I need a beer.”

While we’ve all done this in one way or another, there is a issue of the heart with this phrase.  In that moment, we are showing a lack of satisfaction in Jesus.  We are saying to God, “You’re good…but you’re not good enough.”  When we’ve had crappy days, we shouldn’t be seeking rest and comfort in a beer (cause it will ultimately fail us).  We should have a heart for Jesus.  David (who had A LOT of crappy days) said it this way:

O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you;
my soul thirsts for you;
my flesh faints for you,
as in a dry and weary land where there is no water.
(Psalm 63:1 ESV)

I love having a nice beer while hanging out with family waiting for the bird to cook. A glass of wine goes so well with dinner when it’s ready too. You also can’t forget about toasting in the New Year. Alcohol and this time of the year just seem to go together. Everyone seems to be offering you another beer or glass of wine or egg nog or peppermint schnops or Irish coffee or glass of scotch (I’m getting thirsty).

I want to remind you though that your relationship with Jesus is more important than your next drink. With the spirits flowing so easily this time of year it’s east to abuse it (especially if your drunk uncle is egging you on). Your sin can easily be compounded by the fact that you are around friends and family. Not only to do you sin by getting drunk, but you ruin your witness.

Therefore, remember to stop and think before you take Uncle Bubba up on that next round of drinks. It’s not a sin to enjoy a nice cold one, but it is a sin to get drunk…plus no one wants to see your Santa Claus underwear again this year.

Click here to watch the video if you can’t see it.

***Spoiler Warning***

Watch the video first.
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Honestly, there is this weird tension in me right now.  I’m sad that I’m saying goodbye to being the main contributor on this blog, but I feel a since of relief.  As you can probably tell, I haven’t had the time to devote to this blog as I did when I first started it several months ago.  Because of that, I’ve become overly guilty and stressed.  I love beer, and I love the friends that I’ve made through this blog.

I’m also feeling a sense of excitement at the possibilities.  As I said in the video, thebeerean.com is now open for anyone to contribute.  You simple have to be a registered user.  To start off with I’ll be checking posts before the go live…but as someone shows that they aren’t a spammer I’ll give them full rights to post their articles right away.  I hope that thebeerean.com continues on after me to be a vibrant community where believers can share their views on God, Jesus, the Bible, and beer.

Don’t worry though.  I’ll still be around in the comments and at my personal web site.  I fully intend to be part of this community as it grows.  And don’t forget, “We’ll always have Paris.”  Wait no…umm….

Remember “whether you eat or drink, do it all to the glory of God.”

I think we would all agree that Jesus drank. It’s hard to be accused as a drunkered if you never drink. It would be like accusing an starving Ethiopian of being a glutton. And we know Jesus never got drunk, because that would have been a sin. But what about that fuzzy area of preintoxication? Did Jesus ever get a buzz?

I had read a post from a fellow beer blogging brother (I’ll post a link when I find it again) that pointed out how he thought it was perfectly fine to get a buzz when drinking. He quoted a verse about wine making the heart merry or something like that. It was very interesting to me.

There is a clear point when you are drinking that you still have complete control of your functions, but the alcohol has brought an extra smile to your face. I don’t think it is odd that God created alcohol so it can bring joy. I think we are the ones that abuse it and take it the level that God never intended.

So did Jesus drink to the point that he got a buzz? Did he drink until he got that nice warm feeling inside? Did he drink to that point when it was a little easier to laugh at your friends dumb jokes? I know this might be blasphemous, but I have to know.

Update: The article that I read was from Puritan Pub.  Go check it out. It has a great quote from Luther.

As for the rich in this present age, charge them not to be haughty, nor to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly provides us with everything to enjoy. – 1 Timothy 6:17

Paul drops this simple phrase at the end of this verse like a bomb on my feeble mind. Everything that God provides me with is for me to enjoy.  I’m not suppose to trust in what God provides or to place my hopes on them but on God.  But it is clear in this verse that God desires for us to enjoy His creation.

One of the earliest and first heresies that entered the church was the concept that everything physical is evil. They believed that Jesus couldn’t have been both man and God. He was either a spirit or just a man.  Therefore a truely holy person would never enjoy anything of this earth. They would deny themselves and wouldn’t enjoy what God has clearly provided for us.

I see this still today.  Whether said with words or actions, the mainstream Christian point of view is that it is wrong to enjoy creation.  Someone is truely holy when they deny themselves of everything earthly and focus only on prayer and reading their Bible.  But I would say that this is just a continuation of that early heresy.

I see scripture saying quite the opposite though.  When God is done with creating, He says it’s very good.  He tells His creation to eat of every tree (except on…but even it was considered good to the eye and edible).  He rejoices in them taking pleasure in His creation.

One of the best ways that I see that I can glorify God with my beer drinking is by simply enjoying the beer that I’m drinking. I do so in a way that I don’t put any trust, hope, or faith in beer. But I enjoy my beer knowing that it came from my creator.  I enjoy my beer knowing that God is the Brew Master.

So here is my senario for you. Say Jesus showed up a modern day fiesta and the kegs are starting to run low. What would Jesus brew?  In your mind, what would be the best tasting beer that Jesus could work his miracle on?  Would it be a nice summer ale?  Would it be a dark lager?  We know it wouldn’t have the word light on it, but what would the label say.  So state your case for the Brew Master.

Our good friend Clayton Bell posted today asking for more content on the net that is produced for Christians.  He used theBeerean.com as an example of just this. But he ended his post with the question:

Am I asking for the type of content that will continue to entrench Christians in our own little ghetto?

I would have to say yes and no to this question.  This is actually that I have been struggling with over the last week.  I was asked by someone on the 4th of July why I don’t just do a beer blog…why does it have to be a Christian beer blog.  Now before I give you my answer, let me inform you of something first.

I hate (yes hate…I want to use a word that strong) the Christian ghetto.  If you don’t know what the Christian ghetto is, it is the world that Christians have created so they don’t have to interact with the rest of the world.  The easiest way to recognize it is how the word Christian is thrown in front of everything.  Christian bookstore, Christian music, Christian t-shirts, Christian radio stations, Christian restaurants, and Christian amuesment parks are a few to start. The last time I checked, Christian was an awesome noun and a horrible adjective.

So to think of the possiblility that I might be added to the ranks of the Christian ghetto scares/hurts me.  I hope you never get the idea that I write this blog to keep you from having to interact with any other aspect of the beer world.  That has never been and never will be my intention. If anything it is quite the opposite.

So back to my answer to the question posed by my friend on the 4th.  I don’t write a Christian beer blog.  I write a beer blog from the perspective of someone who has been radically transformed by the gospel.  My reason for writing isn’t to create our own little Christian beer blogging world, but to give you a different perspective as you do go into the world of beer. I want you to see that beer is more than just a tasty beverage.  I want you to see that beer is an instrument to be used to bring glory to God.  This blog is used to encourage you to get out of the ghetto and to glorify God with everything that He has given you.

So to answer your question Clayton, I think the content that you ask for could just add to the Christian ghetto.  If it’s just offering up the same content as the world and slapping on the label of Christian so people don’t get “dirty.”  But you’ll never see that on this blog (and if I ever do…call me on it).

The couple reportedly walked around the bar, bibles in hand, telling people off for swearing.  They even got to the point that they banned people from the pub for cursing.  They were eventually fired by the owner, but instead of leaving graciously…they have barricaded themselves in the flat that is above the pub and have taken the owner to court.

After reading this story, I decided that to many of us are decent Christians that would never be as bad as this couple was at sharing their faith.  So I thought I would come up with some simple steps that you can take if you would like to live up to their level of stupidity.

1. Tell people they are sinning when they are not.
   I love the fact that they took over a pub and then took away gambling and darts.  Gambling I can kind of understand, but it’s not really a sin.  Greed is the sin.  But darts just confounds me.  How could throwing a sharp object at a wall be a sin.  That just sounds like good fun to me.
2. Focus on the sin and not the sinner.
   Here is a news flash.  Sinners sin.  That’s what we do best.  It’s that whole sin nature thing.  Telling someone without a regenerated (I don’t like using big words…but it fits) heart to not sin is just dumb.  It’s like telling a dog to not lick its butt…they might stop…but they won’t like it.  The only way to truly reach someone is to show them their complete depravity…not showing them they have a few little dirty spots in their life.
3. Preach morality and not Jesus.
   This kind of goes with number two, but has a little different slant to it.  If you really want to piss someone off, tell them that cleaning up their act will get them into heaven.  There are a couple of reasons this will work.  First, you’re lying to them.  The only way to heaven is Jesus.  Anything else is a lie.  Second, if they try your method, they are going to get frustrated really quickly.  Remember the whole unregenerated heart thing.  They can’t help but to sin.  So you are asking them to stop doing something they can’t stop themselves from doing.  You are asking them to live biblically without the power of Jesus to do so.
4. Sue them.
   If all else fails, just take them to court.  Nothing says Jesus loves you like a subpoena.

Well I hope this helps.  If you find yourself with a great opportunity to share the love of Jesus to some broken people and you want to screw it up, just remember to follow these four simple steps.