Interesting thread.
Everyone seems to be coming at it from their own personal angle.
Can I give you a different angle.
Personally I don't drink, although I don't have a problems with other Christians who like
to have a drink with a meal or the occasional drink at a social event etc. I wouldn't
condemn them although I hate to see any adults drinking around children - that really
disturbs me.
Being around people who are drinking also makes me feel uncomfortable
because I don't know, if they know their own limits.
One of my brothers was an alcoholic, he basically started drinking in his teens and never
stopped. I cannot even begin to tell you of all the difficulties this caused for everyone
who knew him and especially family. The arguments, him turning up drink at closing time
shouting and hammering on the door to be let in. The times he didn't make it home
and slept in the gutter somewhere. He also has asthma and I've lost count of the number
of times he had asthma attacks because he was so drunk he forgot his inhalers or lost them.
Once he fell over in the bathroom and smashed a wall mirror seriously harming himself.
Other family members had to force open the bathroom door.
Around 19 years ago he tried to commit suicide along with a drunken girlfriend, but they
were too drunk to do it properly and both lived. After that he tried again by himself sort
of a half hearted attempt. Then on a third occasion he came to our house to say goodbye that
he was going to do it properly this time and he just wanted to say sorry beforehand for all the
trouble.
We called the police who took him away and locked him up in a police cell for his own protection.
They let him out the next day once he had sobered up. He then went AWOL for a week and no one
knew where he was.
He eventually was found alive but then he cut all ties with the family.
Then about 12 years ago he resurfaced and was in a really bad way. He was living in a bedsit
which was in flats full of other alcoholics. No one worked. They use to draw unemployment benefit, drink
it, then the next day a different person would draw their benefit and they would all drink it.
A couple of my other brothers use to visit but even they could barely go over there, he had
dropped to 5 stone, had the DTs, hardly any hair left or teeth, was not eating, any money went on booze,
he was fitting etc. The place was a mess filthy, stinking. But even in that state he refused help of any sort
medical or otherwise.
Then it finally happened he fitted one day and fell into a coma and was taken to hospital.
They didn't hold much hope out for him, his body was shutting down, he had various skeletol
problems, his shoulder was crumbling, his organs failing.
He was in intensive care for 6 weeks in a coma, lots of prayer went up for him and a miracle happened.
He survived and when he eventually came around he no longer wanted to drink.
He moved into a rehab home but even there they didn't it think he would have long to live his organs
were so badly damaged. But praise God he gradually came through and grow stronger. He had
various surgery on different parts of his body and had a new shoulder joint and hip joint. His
teeth were fixed, his feet straightened etc.
He is still in this rehab place as he cannot live independently any more and there is certain damage
that is irreparable,
Most people on this thread have given an opinion about whether THEY should drink or not.
But people do not consider the effect it has on those around them.
As I say, I feel uncomfortable around people who are drinking as I'm not sure how far they will go.
Even one or two drinks loosens lips and changes people even if they do not think it does.
If people want to drink in moderation that's fine, but they also need to be sensative to others
around them and pick and choose where they drink.
Maybe the person sat next to you is an alcoholic and can't stop at just one or two. Are there
children present are you scaring them with your out of character exuberant behaviour. Are you sat
next to an ex alcoholic, or maybe the person next to you was abused my an abusive drunkard etc.