The Big 21 Celebration

Just an FYI, I won't publish anonymous comments unless they are signed.

I'm turning 21 next week. Yesterday, my mom happened to run across this article on the website for our local newspaper:

http://www.coloradoan.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2011306120005

In case you don't take the time to read it, it basically sums up "another night in Old Town" Fort Collins. This night seems to include plenty of people hitting the bars and drinking it up. Some of them cause fights which can lead to death, others get so drunk they can't remember that they were hit by cars, and still others collapse in the street.The article is accompanied by pictures of people being carried away on stretchers, friends trying to pull their drunken friends off the road, and a bride-to-be so drunk that she won't remember her bachelorette party. This is truly the picture of total human depravity. It is hard to look at. It is disgusting.

The article states:

Most had a few drinks, or talked with friends, or danced a bit. Mostly, they went home safely. Mostly.Some went home with scrapes and twisted ankles, from falls suffered as they tottered on tall heels, too drunk to walk.And two went to the hospital, too drunk to comprehend they had nearly been killed by a car that crashed into the bench they had been dumped on.

"Mostly, they went home safely. Mostly."

I wonder how many of those who "went home safely" couldn't wake up the next morning to work and provide for their families. I wonder how many of them lost their license in a DUI check. I wonder how many got home "safely" and angrily beat their families. I wonder how many barely 21 year old girls put themselves in a vulnerable situation and couldn't even remember what had happened to them. I wonder how many caused car wrecks or even "fender benders".

And that is what I have to look forward to on the night of my 21st birthday? I think not.

I know, I know, some people drink "responsibly". Some people can "handle" their alcohol without becoming vulnerable or harming others. But I have seen alcohol cause even those who can "handle" it to put themselves in dangerous and foolish situations. Growing up in a foster family, I've seen the pain of children who can't be with their drunken parents. I've watched those children pray that their mommy would be sober in time for their next potential visit with her. I have seen good families fall apart because of a hidden alcohol addiction leading to divorce, abuse, death, and suicide. I have seen TOO MANY children, including my own dad, lose their fathers to alcohol abuse. I have seen too many children, thankfully not my own dad, who have grown up to follow the pattern.

I hear a lot of "But Jesus turned water to wine!" given as a reason that drinking is okay. I have always failed to see why that is even a discussion or something worth bringing up. Based on everything we know about Jesus, our Lord, are we really silly enough to think that He provided the wedding guests with a substance that would cause them to wreck their donkeys on the way home? Did he give them something to help them commit adultery and fornication and not even remember who they committed it with? Would He provide his mother, who was present at the party, a drink that would cause her to be vulnerable to the abuses of drunken men? Would Jesus Christ give his followers a drink that would rip apart their families, cause them emotional and physical harm, leave their children abused and/or fatherless? Would He give His people something that would make them act like fools and become vulnerable to Satan's temptations? Think about it.

The Bible commands me not to get drunk. I see no better way to prevent myself from getting drunk then by not drinking alcohol at all. Besides the fact that I want to obey and remain sober, I refuse to support an industry that leads to abuse, carousing, foolishness, rape, and suicide. I won't participate in the pastime that leads to hang overs, car wrecks, and embarrassing behavior. We are supposed to be the picture of sobriety, grace, and dignity. I fail to see how alcohol can ever help to achieve that picture.

Let me also say that just because YOU can handle your alcohol does not mean the people around you can. Can your weaker brother in Christ? Can your spouse? Can your children? Can the non-Christians around you, who you are supposed to be setting an example for? Far be it from me to be the example that causes even one person to fall into a lifestyle of drunkenness and alcoholism.

Unfortunately I believe the Christian community has become somewhat comfortable toying with alcoholism. We might preach against it on Sundays, but is it shocking to us if people get a little tipsy at weddings or on special occasions? Would we be surprised if a 21 year old had a little too much to drink in celebration? Are we okay with joking about getting drunk or having hang overs? Please, let us not make light of a sin that has caused so much pain and hurt in the world and also in Christian families.

So for those who might ask what I'm doing for my 21st, with that expectant look in their eyes, I won't be joining the Old Town crowd to try my first alcoholic beverage. My society tells me it's time to jump in with the rest of the "grown ups" and participate in the pastime of drinking, to whatever extent I might enjoy. My God tells me to be sober at all times and to remain on the alert because my adversary, Satan, is prowling about like a lion seeking someone to devour.

Next week I'll probably blow out some candles and eat cake, which sounds like an excellent way to celebrate to me. :-)