Opinions and faith about drinking liquors

A lot of my friends tried to convince me to drink a beer like the Redhorse beer. Some ended up to not bother me anymore in giving me a shot. And I am glad because they respect me. On the picture, that is me and the Rehorse beer which is a very popular beer in the Philippines.

Picture this out: A family gathering, let us say your grandparent’s golden wedding anniversary. You happen to sit together with your cousins and have a little chat in the living room. Big bottles of Redhorse beer are found on the table. Your cousins seem to be enjoying the chat while one is passing a shot of beer to each of your cousins. Then it happens that the shot of beer goes to you. It is your time to drink that beer. Because you had stopped from drinking beers and other forms of liquors, you will say “No, thank you.” Your cousin asks “Why?” You tell them “I don’t drink that stuff.” He answers back “Oh come on, are you kidding me? Just try one.” So, what are you going to do then?

I will still say no! That is final.

But why? I don’t want to sound rude to people who disagree with me but I just want to explain my side because a lot of people around me are curious as to what my reasons behind why I always refuse from drinking alcoholic beverages.

Okay. I drank San Miguel Beer, Beer na Beer, Gilbey’s Gin mixed with pomelo juice, Tanduay and the so called fermented coconut wine “Tuba” when I was on my early teen. I stopped from such drinking when I was 18 years old. The reason why I stopped is very personal, in the sense that it was a personal decision.

I’ve learned that saying yes to a drinker who is giving me a wine is not a sign of respect at all. Respect is a condition of being esteemed or honored, like I respect my parents because I honor them for loving me as their son. Saying yes to liquors is not honorable, like we know what will happen to our body if we drink it. Just by saying “No, thank you but I don’t drink that kind of thing” is okay. The drinker must acknowledge your disliking from such drinking if the drinker truly respects you. Because I don’t want to refuse the offer from a drinker is not a good reason for me to drink it. Learning to say no for good is something honorable for yourself. I was wrong when I drank the beer offered to me by my uncle because I don’t want him down.

I’ve also learned that my body is special, a miracle. From a single sperm cell and an egg cell, it formed into a whole new being named Macky who is able to think logically and who is able to build websites. It is indeed a miracle. Right? Being drunk is not something helpful to my body. If I am drunk, it is more likely the same that I am destroyed. And I hate that!

In the Bible, there is no scripture that tells us to stop from drinking these kind of beverages. In fact in verse 1 Timothy 5:23, it states there “Stop drinking only water. Take a little wine to help your stomach trouble and the other illnesses you always have.” Okay I have to emphasize it once more, little wine! And the purpose is healing and nothing else. In 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 ” You surely know that your body is a temple where the Holy Spirit lives. The Spirit is in you and is a gift from God. You are no longer your own. God paid a great price for you. So use your body to honor God.”

My decision to stop from drinking liquors has nothing to do with religion but it has to do with my faith. I stop because I don’t want to get drunk. I don’t want to get drunk because I don’t want to hurt my body. I don’t want to hurt my body because I don’t want to destroy the temple of the Holy Spirit. I don’t want to destroy the temple of the Holy Spirit because I don’t want God to get mad at me. I can make people not accept me for not drinking liquors but I can’t make God not accept me as His own son.

Well, drinking liquors is fine but what makes it dangerous is when you are drunk. If you want to please the Lord, you know the best choice to make.