Why I Don't Drink Alcohol

Sparkling apple juice for me, please! 

In brief, here are 5 reasons why I'm a very happy teetotaler.

1. The taste. Ewww.

People say that it's an acquired taste, but I don't understand why one would want to acquire it. If you want to acquire the taste of something, try Brussels sprouts or mustard greens.
 

2. Math

Alcohol has proven itself a capable instrument for destruction. 1 in 9 Americans has a problem controlling their consumption, and 30% of Americans have reported experiencing an alcohol disorder at one point in their lives (1). That is TENS OF MILLIONS of people.

From brain damage to liver disease, it causes over $2.5billion in medical costs each year in this country (25-40% of patients in general hospital beds are there for alcohol-related complications; 2). It results in 2.5 million deaths every year worldwide (3).This year, almost 10000 human beings will be killed in alcohol-related motor vehicles accidents in the US (based on 2011 data, 4). Many people who are afraid of flying or who get sick at the thought of shark attacks still drink alcohol, even though it is, respectively, 860x and 380000x more likely to kill them (but I guess being mangled by a shark isn't as socially acceptable as drinking). Alcohol brings a lot of trouble and I don't want to participate in it.
 

3. Influence

I'm not the president of anything and you won't find my picture in a celebrity magazine, but like everyone I have influence in the world, influence on the people around me. Even if I am a person who can drink moderately and responsibly, my example could lead others to drink what they shouldn't when they shouldn't. But why should my life be restricted by the weaknesses of others? "

Therefore let us not pass judgment on one another any longer, but rather decide never to put a stumbling block or hindrance in the way of a brother. For if your brother is grieved by what you eat [drink], you are no longer walking in love. By what you eat, do not destroy the one for whom Christ died." (Romans 14:15,17) In other words, my Christianity bids me to lay down my rights for the sake of protecting others. 
 

4. The need for sobriety

People argue about if alcohol is absolutely forbidden by God in the Scriptures, but one thing cannot be argued: God detests drunkenness. (Isaiah 5:11-12, 22; 22:13; 56:12; Hosea 7:14, etc.)

There are a lot of things in the world that can harm us spiritually, making us unfit for the life God designed, and drunkenness is definitely among them. This is why the Scriptures repeatedly exhort believers to be sober. (Romans 12:3; 1 Thessalonians 5:5-8; 1 Peter 1:13, 5:8) And the closer we come to the close of earth's history, the more important sobriety is.
 

5. Sensibilities of the spirit

One of the most commonly expressed desires among Christian people is to hear from God more often and more clearly. Many times we say it sort of complainingly, as if God is not doing His honest part. But we who utter the complaint are the same ones who dull our spiritual senses with busyness, entertainment, gluttony, and...alcohol. God doesn't speak to us through our shampoo bottles or our glove compartments.

He speaks to us through our minds.

So whatever we do to keep our minds clear and reasoned tends toward spiritual health and a close connection with the speaking God. Conversely, whatever clouds our minds also dulls our spiritual senses and makes it harder for us to hear the voice of God. 

Clear mind, clear life. 

Who has woe? Who has sorrow?Who has strife? Who has complaints? Who has needless bruises? Who has bloodshot eyes? Those who linger over wine...In the end it bites like a snake and poisons like a viper. Your eyes will see strange sights and your mind imagine confusing things. You will be like one sleeping on the high seas, lying on top of the rigging. "They hit me," you will say, "but I'm not hurt! They beat me, but I don't feel it! When will I wake up so I can find another drink?" // proverbs 23:29-35

The end of all things is near. Therefore be alert and of sober mind so that you can pray. // 1 peter 4:7 

I was made for this

Were some of us made for the desert and some for the trees? Some for the bluffs and some for the sea? Some for the warmth at the earth's midline? Some for the fragrant covering of pine? Some for the clear waters, some for the ice? Some for the corn fields and some for the rice? Then I --- I was made for this:

Joshua on Eagle Creek Trail, Oregon

We Need to Clasp A Hand That Is Warm

This warmed my heart so much. I want these words to be my own. 

Read this aloud to help you hear it.

What am I to think when my spirit is sad and longing?

It was the Maker of all things who ordained the wonderful adaptation of means to end, of supply to need. It was He who in the material world provided that every desire implanted should be met. It was He who created the human soul, with its capacity for knowing and for loving. And He is not in Himself such as to leave the demands of the soul unsatisfied. No intangible principle, no impersonal essence or mere abstraction, can satisfy the needs and longings of human beings in this life of struggle with sin and sorrow and pain. It is not enough to believe in law and force, in things that have no pity, and never hear the cry for help. We need to know of an almighty arm that will hold us up, of an infinite Friend that pities us. We need to clasp a hand that is warm, to trust in a heart full of tenderness. And even so has God in His word revealed Himself.

Ellen G. White, Education (page 133)

It was God who created the human soul, with its capacity for knowing and for loving.

You're Embarrassing Me

Conversations like this rarely happen in homes of fathers and daughters, but it happened frequently in mine during my teenage years.  

Dad: I forbid you to buy one more brown piece of clothing. FORBID. 

Kess: Navy and black are still good, though?

Dad: Kess, try a little color! Why is everything you own so drab? 

Kess: I don't know... I like it.

Dad: You're young! Dress like it! Try some sandals, wear short skirts. Please. 

Kess: *blushing and averting eye contact* 

Honestly, I was too embarrassed to wear color or to show my feet in public. I was too embarrassed to go through the check-out line at the grocery store. I was too embarrassed to call anyone on the phone (except my best friend Tessa; but I was still hope-hope-hoping her mom wouldn't answer). If someone called me and I was wearing a tank top, I would ask them to hold on a minute; this allowed me enough time to go put on a shirt. So maybe you picked up on it: I was very sensitive to embarrassment. In fact, when I was kid, the worst thing my mom could say to me (as she grabbed my upper arm with, uh, intention) were these words: 

You're embarrassing me.

*Shudder. Oh, they pierced to my very soul! And it's half comical, half sad that the main part of my ambition as a child was to not be embarrassing and to not be embarrassed.

Now I'm a grown woman and I have so much more freedom in life now. I've tried to cultivate the habit of not apologizing for myself and of chasing kittens. But honestly, a lot of the time I still struggle not to be embarrassed about one thing or another, and I spend too much energy laboring with my insecurities. 

But here are 3 lessons-in-progress:

1. It is only the false self that is embarrassed---the self that wants to be impressive, to maintain an image, to manipulate others' perceptions. The me that I was created to be isn't hampered by that stuff. Jesus designed me for freedom!

2. I have to be okay with the facts. And here are the facts: I have repeatedly mispronounced the word "banal," I run into things a lot, I'm not musically talented, I am clumsy on the athletic field, and sometimes I have popcorn in my teeth. C'est la vie -- et que belle vie! 

3. Instead of laboring under the rulership of insecurity, I choose to live in the kingdom of TRUTH. And here's the truth >> I am only what I am: imperfect & beloved :) 

So you there!

Yes, you!

Do you want to walk with me out from the shadow of insecurity and into the freedom of a Christ-identity? 

I will walk about in freedom, 
for I have sought out your precepts.
Psalm 119:45