Called Out By God

My wife and I have had our share of difficulties in our young marriage. Some of these struggles include having a blended family, making several geographical moves in a short period of time, having two incomes, having one income, trying to carve out "married" time and a whole powder keg of other issues that can make marriage a challenge. Through much hard work, and even more "deliberation", my wife and I have managed to reach a consensus on most of the issues and seem to be headed in the right direction spiritually and in our marriage. One issue, however, that has been more divisive and debilitating than any other has been the issue of alcohol. This blog is not intended to castigate those who feel that Christianity and alcohol either should or should not be compatible. Arguments have been and will be made for as long as we inhabit the Old Earth. As for the New Heaven, I am sure that there will be no competitors for the feeling of love and connectedness that we experience in communion with the Father and the Son. There will be nothing that need enhance our experience in that realm. In this realm, I have made a commitment to my wife that I will abstain from alcohol in support of her. At times this has been difficult for me, as I seem to thrive on trying to grab a tiger by the tail as a way of life. I have been scratched playfully, gnawed on, batted around, and downright mauled by this tiger, but something still compels me to reach out for that tail again. I have an inkling that it may be my sin nature hard at work. At times I don't even want to pray to ask God for strength in this area because I feel that I can make a go of my little game of tame the tiger and manage it on my own. Why am I sharing this with you? Why am I up at 3 in the morning, attempting to write coherent thoughts while the rest of my family slumbers? (except for the cat who has gotten into a fresh batch of catnip-cats have their substance abuse issues as well:) I am up because earlier this evening I accepted an invitation for my wife and I to attend a dinner for volunteers at the church where we both serve and attend. This was the second reminder of the event, and although I am usually slow to respond to invites, my delayed reaction was not due to procrastination. It was due to indecision about whether my wife and I would even attend. We really like our church, and do feel that it is a place where we can grow together as a family and spiritually, but the invite reminded people that this event would include dinner, and the ever present "microbrew". Code name-Beer. It is not mine to judge individually whether beer is appropriate for each Christian attending. It is not my style to expect someone to change their beliefs or habits on account of me. It is certainly not my style to be up at 3 in the morning, wondering why alcohol has to be a part of this event of celebration. Awake and wondering what message it sends to the waiter, or waitress who may have struggles of their own. Awake and wondering what message it sends to the fellow believer who has an undisclosed need, or suffers from childhood wounds that come from alcohol abuse in the home. Wondering what the payoff is for the Christian. I cannot say whether it is a sin for a people of God to use alcohol, but I safely can say that it is a mistake for God's people to use alcohol in a flippant way that mirrors the world. (even in Portland) We are called out from the world. We live in the midst of a world where those who are apart from God find myriad ways to seek solace apart from God. Although the solace that alcohol offers is fleeting, its use and abuse are prevalent in our society. I in no way expect that the church I attend would abuse alcohol, even in this celebratory setting, but I still must wonder what is the payoff? Are we more hip? Are we better able to relate to the dude at the bar who got off work at 7 am and is drinking his breakfast? Are we better able to serve our fellow man by being our fellow man? Are we exhibiting our spiritual freedoms as a kind of advert that "you too some day can be this spiritually mature." Are we letting the recovering alcoholic know that the shells have stopped falling, and we can come out of the foxhole now? Maybe we just really enjoy the taste of a quality beer every now and again. As a Christian, we are not responsible directly for the actions of others, but we do have an Adversary in this world who very skillfully plies his trade. He enjoys the process of scratching, clawing, batting, and eventually consuming those who do and don't follow Jesus. It is imperative that those who do follow Jesus be distinguished from those who don't. This is something that we all struggle with on a daily basis, in our words and in our deeds. We reach out to those who are in need, but often succumb to our own wants in the end. We pray for reconciliation, while driving the wedge of separation even deeper. We make promises to those we love, but in moments of weakness compromise and settle for less than what we promised. We are supposed to be a people called to God and set apart, but in a world that can swallow us up, this becomes more and more difficult. Yet, we are still called out of this world, to a life that mirrors the perfection that Jesus attained. I know that we all will far short of His example, and I know that we will need countless dispensations of Grace from a a patient and loving Heavenly Father until the day that He takes us to our home, but we are either hurting the kingdom or helping the kingdom. I can only think that the use of alcohol has the capacity to do far more of the former than the latter. So, I will ask myself this question in moments of weakness, or when the devil reminds me that I can drink and it is even my right as a Christian to do so. WHAT IS THE KINGDOM PAYOFF? Does it move us further down the field, or does it stuff us at the goal line? God--I pray that you will lend me strength (or outright give it to me) to endure those times when the devil would compromise my effectiveness by making me the norm, instead of the exception.