Question Regarding Drinking

[TenthAveN]

So I may be hanging out with a friend tonight, and he asked me if it would offend me if he drank around me. I know where’s he’s coming from, because he and some of my other friends know that I don’t drink. I personally don’t think I would be offended by it, and I don’t believe I would be tempted to do so either. Would it be wrong for him to drink around me if I said it’s okay?

Just to be clear, I am not, nor ever have been, addicted to alcohol. It’s most likely just my OCD, but regardless, I choose to abstain from it.

 

[Hazelelponi]

I don't drink alcohol at all but perhaps a few sips once every year or two since I've been saved. (Because I have zero tolerance for alcohol as I've never drank, I can't drink a full glass of any alcoholic beverage)

But people drink around me, my husband occasionally drinks a beer, one of his sister's drinks wine occasionally - none of that sort of thing phases me.

It's my behavior thats the issue as a Christian, its not my job to worry so much about others.

 

[jacks]

It doesn't sound like it would bother you, so I see no reason not to let your friend drink. Now if he gets sloppy drunk you may want to say something.

 

[d taylor]

For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, ‘He has a demon.’ The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Look, a glutton and a winebibber, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ But wisdom is justified by her children.”

 

[Sketcher]

If he's of legal age, it's fine. It's considered impolite to drink if the people around you aren't drinking, if you don't ask first. This is probably why he is asking.

 

[BobRyan]

So I may be hanging out with a friend tonight, and he asked me if it would offend me if he drank around me. I know where’s he’s coming from, because he and some of my other friends know that I don’t drink. I personally don’t think I would be offended by it, and I don’t believe I would be tempted to do so either. Would it be wrong for him to drink around me if I said it’s okay?

Just to be clear, I am not, nor ever have been, addicted to alcohol. It’s most likely just my OCD, but regardless, I choose to abstain from it.

My friends have asked me about that and I have said that it is fine with me if we are in a public place and they choose to drink alcohol. They know I don't drink it because of my faith in Christ. But we can't witnesses to a single soul if we insist that they must first be a Christian before we can socialize with them.

 

[aiki]

So I may be hanging out with a friend tonight, and he asked me if it would offend me if he drank around me. I know where’s he’s coming from, because he and some of my other friends know that I don’t drink. I personally don’t think I would be offended by it, and I don’t believe I would be tempted to do so either. Would it be wrong for him to drink around me if I said it’s okay?

Just to be clear, I am not, nor ever have been, addicted to alcohol. It’s most likely just my OCD, but regardless, I choose to abstain from it.

Does your friend drink to the point of drunkenness? If so, he sins and you make yourself witness to his sin by being present while he over-imbibes. Here's something to consider from Scripture:

Psalm 50:21
21 "These things you have done and I kept silence; You thought that I was just like you; I will reprove you and state the case in order before your eyes.

If you hang-out with your buddy while he gets blasted, what message are you sending him, do you think, about the moral character of his drunkenness?

Ephesians 5:7-11
7 Therefore do not be partakers with them;
8 for you were formerly darkness, but now you are Light in the Lord; walk as children of Light
9 (for the fruit of the Light consists in all goodness and righteousness and truth),
10 trying to learn what is pleasing to the Lord.
11 Do not participate in the unfruitful deeds of darkness, but instead even expose them;

All sin brings forth death, the Bible says (Romans 6:23; James 1:15). If your friend drinks to excess, becoming drunk, what's your responsibility to him as a friend who knows his sin will produce death in his life? Would you expose your friend's sin for what it is, if he got drunk in your presence, and warn him off such immoral conduct?

 

[Aussie Pete]

So I may be hanging out with a friend tonight, and he asked me if it would offend me if he drank around me. I know where’s he’s coming from, because he and some of my other friends know that I don’t drink. I personally don’t think I would be offended by it, and I don’t believe I would be tempted to do so either. Would it be wrong for him to drink around me if I said it’s okay?

Just to be clear, I am not, nor ever have been, addicted to alcohol. It’s most likely just my OCD, but regardless, I choose to abstain from it.

Your choice. Ask God for wisdom. As an ex drunk, I dislike being around drunks. I used to be appalled - did I behave like them? Answer, yes. I don't move in those circles any more and I have not for decades.

Of course, just because a person drinks does not mean that he has to get drunk (unless he is like I was).

 

[TenthAveN]

Well he says he’s Christian, and I think I’ll just leave it at that because I don’t want to be a hypocrite when I’m not in a good place either. I can’t even call myself a Christian much of the time due to all of my issues. We ended up going into a bar, and I felt a whole lot of anxiety, and eventually said “you’re not dragging me to this place again.” I should’ve told him that I wasn’t comfortable going in there, so it’s more my fault than his. He didn’t drink to excess, and I didn’t drink at all, we just played pool. He brought up Romans 14, which is why he asked me what he asked me. I feel terrible now, and I don’t know if it’s my OCD/anxiety and legalism going haywire or if it’s God telling me something. I’m certainly never doing that again.

 

[TenthAveN]

Does your friend drink to the point of drunkenness? If so, he sins and you make yourself witness to his sin by being present while he over-imbibes. Here's something to consider from Scripture:

Psalm 50:21
21 "These things you have done and I kept silence; You thought that I was just like you; I will reprove you and state the case in order before your eyes.

If you hang-out with your buddy while he gets blasted, what message are you sending him, do you think, about the moral character of his drunkenness?

Ephesians 5:7-11
7 Therefore do not be partakers with them;
8 for you were formerly darkness, but now you are Light in the Lord; walk as children of Light
9 (for the fruit of the Light consists in all goodness and righteousness and truth),
10 trying to learn what is pleasing to the Lord.
11 Do not participate in the unfruitful deeds of darkness, but instead even expose them;

All sin brings forth death, the Bible says (Romans 6:23; James 1:15). If your friend drinks to excess, becoming drunk, what's your responsibility to him as a friend who knows his sin will produce death in his life? Would you expose your friend's sin for what it is, if he got drunk in your presence, and warn him off such immoral conduct?

I think he trusts me to tell him if he’s going too far. But I should strive to be less timid when my friends are doing something that isn’t right. I shouldn’t be a coward at the expense of my friend.

 

[TenthAveN]

Your choice. Ask God for wisdom. As an ex drunk, I dislike being around drunks. I used to be appalled - did I behave like them? Answer, yes. I don't move in those circles any more and I have not for decades.

Of course, just because a person drinks does not mean that he has to get drunk (unless he is like I was).

Yeah, as far as I could tell he wasn’t drinking in excess.

 

[Aussie Pete]

Yeah, as far as I could tell he wasn’t drinking in excess.

I was in the Navy when I got born again. Every now and again, one of my shipmates would ask questions and suggest we go to the bar for a chat and a beer. They knew I'd sworn off the drink. While it seemed like an opportunity to witness, I soon found that was exactly the wrong environment. Just be aware that it can be a trap for the unwary.