#144 - Should Christians Drink? Exploring Faith's Gray Areas {Reflections Re-Release}

“Should Christians drink alcohol?” is the question that sparks this conversation, but it doesn’t stay in rule-land for long. We start with what Scripture actually highlights, not a list of modern do’s and don’ts, but repeated warnings about drunkenness as a way of life that pulls people toward chaos, harm, and what we call “non-life.” If Jesus comes to give life to the full, then the real issue isn’t whether a drink is technically allowed. The issue is whether a habit produces life in you and the people who have to live with you.

From there we zoom out to the bigger question behind the question: what does it mean to be a Christian in a world full of gray areas. We walk through the kind of brutally honest self-audit most of us avoid: What is my relationship with alcohol? Do I plan my week around it? Do I need it to relax or to numb out? Do my friends, spouse, or kids get nervous when I drink? And we apply that same lens to marijuana, psychedelics, caffeine, sugar, sex, workouts, and even the intoxicating need to be seen as a “really good” Christian. Any good thing can become an idol when it starts ruling your desires and decisions.

A turning point comes from Paul’s words in 1 Corinthians: “All things are lawful, but not all things are beneficial.” Christian freedom is not about getting by, it’s about living well and helping others live well too. That means your choices aren’t just personal preferences; they’re acts of love, especially when someone near you is vulnerable, like a friend in recovery. We also name a few boundaries where the wisest move is simply to stay away, then end with a practical invitation to ask trusted people what they see in you.

If this helped you think more clearly about alcohol, addiction, idolatry, and Christian freedom, subscribe, share the episode with a friend, and leave a review so more people can find it.

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Transcript

Why This Episode Is Releasing

SPEAKER_01 0:20

Hey everyone, Olivia here. As you probably know, Pastor Ryan is on sabbatical this summer. So until he gets back, I will be re-releasing some of our most popular episodes from the Reflections podcast. Today's episode originally aired in July of 2025. As you may have seen in the title, this episode starts with a question that comes up a lot in Christian circles, but ends up going somewhere you just might not expect. Enjoy.

Should Christians Drink Alcohol

SPEAKER_00 0:54

What is up, everybody? Hey, it's Ryan here. Welcome to our Reflections Podcast. And this week I actually had a question from somebody that was asking about this, and I thought I'll address it on a podcast. But and I should mention too, there's a number of people that might hear this and think, oh my gosh, she's talking about me. And like, but I I I really am not talking about any particular person. It's the one person, and this question comes up a lot in Christian circles, but um but so this is not about any specific person. But but the question is this should Christians drink alcohol? And this is asked a lot on like these, you know, and different kinds of you know, QA type uh, you know, conversations online and whatever. But um but anyway, the question is um, yeah, should qu should Christians drink alcohol? And here's the deal. The the question behind the question is really something more like, what kinds of things should Christians do and what kinds of things should we avoid? And so like in the same vein, some people might ask, can Christians smoke weed or like consume marijuana? Uh what about like psychedelics or other type, you know, type things like this, you know, nootropics and and and whatnot, and and and you know, so that yeah, the thing behind the thing is like uh like what does it mean to be a Christian and how should we behave in the world? There's also for honest some bit of us when we ask this, like, hey, what what can I do and kind of still be in? You know what I mean? Like some people are asking, hey, can I do this and still like be included in whatever the, you know, the being a Christian or whatever? And so like, what can I do and still kind of be in? So, okay, I'll talk about the alcohol first, and then the alcohol is kind of like a small picture of the whole thing, and maybe we can land on some ways to address all the things that we

Drunkenness And The Way Of Life

SPEAKER_00 2:34

do in our life. But in the Bible, the Bible doesn't really talk about should you or should you not drink alcohol per se. It does talk a lot about drunkenness. Like in the Bible, a number of times uh drunkenness is is addressed, and the Bible says, like basically don't engage in drunkenness and drunken behavior. But you should also notice when it talks about drunkenness and like a drunken, you know, uh uh being drunk, it's like talking about a lifestyle of drunkenness because it often will pair with this, this warning, like warnings about other things too, like envy and thieving, like stealing, and greedy behavior and orgies, believe it or not, and uh greedy people and swindlers. And so it's sort of like incorporating all of these into this sort of pot of a person who's kind of gone off the rails in almost every single way, and their whole life is like this life of debauchery, and you'd look at it and be like, oh my gosh, like that person's gone off the rails. And and so the Bible talks a lot about like life versus non-life, and Jesus, for example, came to give you life and life to the full. And in the Old Testament, in the Hebrew Bible, the laws were a way for the people to behave that produced life. And these are like general laws, there's a bunch of them, but like, you know, in the Ten Commandments, for example, like don't steal, you know, uh, don't murder, these are things that actually help foster life, creativity, and you know, social belonging and collaboration, these kinds of things. And so Jesus comes, he's like, I can't, I came to give life. And when you look at a person whose life is sort of characterized by, I don't know, envy and drunkenness and orgies and thieving and greedy behavior and swindling, like these things generally lead to non-life. Now, we can argue about whether or not it's fun in the moment, or there are are there certain elements that are kind of energizing, but if we all did this, life would be chaotic and and really it would be like some sort of non-life. But here's, I don't know, here's the question that I ask a lot when I'm asked this question. Like, hey Ryan, can I drink alcohol? Um, even if I'm not being drunk or living this life of drunk, can I drink alcohol? Or can I can I use marijuana? Um, can I use psychedelics? And these kinds

What Is Your Relationship With It

SPEAKER_00 4:40

of questions. And I would say, here's the thing that I always want to like sort of peel back the layers and figure out. And what I would ask them is like, hey, what do you think your relationship is like with that thing? Like, what is your relationship like with alcohol? And what when you drink, what's that relationship like? Like we all have these relationships with with these things, and and it's like it's like a give and take. And what is it like? Um why why do you drink? What is it doing for you? And I think a number of folks that I know would would qualify their relationship with alcohol, many of them anyway, not all of them, but they would say it's probably not good. You know, like they might say that the alcohol in some ways has a grip on them. You know, I know that people say, Oh, I could stop anytime I want to, or I could quit whenever I want, but a lot of folks really couldn't. You know, um, you know, here's the I might also ask, like, does it have a grip on you? Does it do you shape your day around it? Like, do you long for or look forward to the weekend just so you can drink? Might you change your plans because of this thing? Like, would you like not go out because you're, I want to just stay home and drink, or I'll go there if they have alcohol, or I won't go there because I don't have alcohol? Um, like, do you have alcohol or does the alcohol have you? Has it become a god in your life? If you're brutally, like gut-wrenchingly honest, has has alcohol become this god in your life in which your whole life begins to circle and center around this thing? If that's the case, then it's it's it's really an unhealthy relationship with alcohol. Like, do you feel like you need to drink? And also you might ask when you're drinking, are you are you drinking to kind of check in or to check out? Um are you drinking, and many of us do this, many of us do this, like are you drinking to to numb out? Or like the the song says, to drown your sorrows? Uh, because like you too said, your your sorrows will eventually learn to swim. But are you drinking to be to try to be somebody you're not? Um or like maybe you could ask, like, how how am I when I drink? Like, how do my friends perceive me when I'm when I'm when I'm drinking? Um, do they get nervous around me? Does my spouse get nervous? Are my kids nervous when they watch me drink? And then I would ask, like, what is the fruit of all of it? And so I you could ask all these questions about any of these things, psychedelics, um, or you know, using marijuana, or uh, or drinking, or tobacco, or even nootropics, or things like sex, or coffee. I mean, coffee is a stimulant. Coffee is like a is is a considered a drug. I mean, ca caffeine is this incredibly mood-altering substance. And like, but what's our relationship like with coffee and caffeine, or sweets, or working out at the gym, or being a super good Christian. You know, some of us get high off of that. Um our life revolves around like being a really good person.

When Good Things Become Idols

SPEAKER_00 7:25

All of these things can become idols in our lives that kind of rule over us. And I'm just telling you, this is not freedom. This is bondage. This is not the abundant life that Jesus came to give us. And so rather than like giving one pat answer for all of these, like, I don't know if it's good for you to drink alcohol or not. I have no idea. What's it mean for you? What is it like in your life? Does your life revolve around it? Does your family get nervous when you do it? Would you alter your plans to just include it or not include it? I mean, has it become an idol or a god in your own life? And do you need it? Does it does it like numb out something in you that you because here's the thing. Often we will numb out certain emotions or feelings and uh because we don't want to feel them. And sometimes those emotions, those feelings have a message for us. There's a thing in there that we need to learn about ourselves or about uh, you know, the the life, and and when we numb out, we we miss that that uh that message. And so why are you drinking? Why do you need to do it so badly?

Lawful Versus Beneficial For Others

SPEAKER_00 8:18

Paul, I love this in in in uh 1 Corinthians, Paul says this he says that all things are lawful. What? He said, but not everything is beneficial. So all things are lawful, but not all things build up. No one should seek their own good, but the good of others. I love that. Here's what the message, so Eugene Peterson says it this way. He says, Hey, looking at it one way, you could say, this is Eugene Peterson, anything goes. Really? Anything, Eugene? Uh, but or Paul? But he says, anything goes because of God's immense generosity and grace. We don't have to dissect and scrutinize every action to see if it passes muster. But the point is not to just get by. We want to live well. And our foremost efforts should be able to help others live well, also. So that's it. I love it. Uh Paul says all things are lawful, like really anything's game, anything's on the table. But not everything's beneficial. So yeah, you can drink alcohol. It's it's it you can according to the law, you can drink it, but but is it beneficial? And does it help build up others around you? Some of you might say, Yes, great, then it's probably fine for you to do that. Others might be like, no, I don't. Or maybe you have a uh a recovering alcoholic as a good friend or a spouse, and you're like, no, I'm gonna not drink because they're not drinking, you know, I don't want to like, you know, like knock them off the wagon. And so those are all really important questions to ask about all the things in our life that we might possibly be addicted to addicted to. So that's it. I think that's the answer. Like, what's good for you? What's good for your soul? What's good for your community, your family, your friendships, uh, for those watching you live your life? What helps

Clear No’s And Brutal Honesty

SPEAKER_00 9:52

others? Now, look, I'll one quick caveat. There are some things that I think just are not good to touch. I'll name a couple just so you can kind of you know uh have an idea, but things like heroin, you know. I mean, I think it's just for like almost across the board, it's a negative net in your life to like you should avoid heroin or pornography or an open marriage. These are things that can really damage relationships, and these are not good for you or for other people. They're kind of like, these are just generally, I I've not really uh heard a good argument for them. And so, uh, but there are other things that are not quite as, you know, on the edge of the of the line there that are, you know, you gotta kind of wrestle with them. But I would say do it honestly. Be honest with yourself and be honest, and you know, ask your family and your friends and ask them, hey, what is it like and what do you what do you see in me? And and ask yourself these questions and be brutally gut-wrenchingly honest about these things. All right, I hope that helps. Love you guys, peace.

Share The Show And Join Us

SPEAKER_00 10:50

Hey, if you enjoy this show, I'd love to have you share it with some friends. And don't forget, you are always welcome to join us in person at Central in Elk River at 8 30, which is our liturgical gathering, or at 10 o'clock, our modern gathering. Or you can check us out online at clcelkriver.org. Peace.