I was raised with the regard that drinking is a sin. Only since the onset of my faith have I ever felt, particularly drunkenness, as such. Last summer I allowed alcohol back in my life after a long hiatus to prove a point. I'd wrestled with it in the past, not because I ever had a problem with it, but for the inevitable one two many which would result in the unbearable, in the words of Paul, sting of sin.
1 Corinthians 15:56
The sting of death is sin...
The point was to the people I was hanging out with. We knew each other because we were raised with the same religious doctrine. Most of them don't go to church. When I appeared on the scene my sobriety, it seemed to me, was perceived as obedience to the ideals we were raised with. It couldn't be further from the truth. It does have everything to do with my faith, but my faith has very little to do with the church. It was through prayer and searching that I encountered Christ, outside and in the middle of the night. And what it has to do with my faith is not so much that it's a sin even but that my perspective, and my lifestyle consequently, changed with the knowledge of the Son of man.
It bothered me and I realized that even out of church... well it's like you can take the person out of church but you can't take the church out of the person.
Colossians 2:23
These things indeed have an appearance of wisdom in self-imposed religion, false humility, and neglect of the body, but are of no value against the indulgence of the flesh.
In my case, the same can be said. But the church inside of me is the power that created an altogether new pleasure to put all others into a different perspective. Is it possible to live without pleasure? Trying to abstain and then failing creates a vicious circle for the believing person who perceives certain pleasure as sin. A good indicator when in doubt is the sting. If you don't feel the sting, chances are you're not experiencing the pleasure in the faith either. It surpasses all others.
1 Corinthians 6:12
All things are lawful unto me, but all things are not expedient: all things are lawful for me, but I will not be brought under the power of any.
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I believe that many of us were raised with the same beliefs, which is alright insofar as raising a child. The problem I have is when these children become adults, people who readily wear their faith on their sleeves, without thinking critically regarding their own methods of reasoning. They believe what they were taught without daring to take the word of God and compare their beliefs with it.
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