Filled Up!

Filled! It's funny how that word may come up, "Can you pour some more water in my glass? Nope, it's filled." When something is filled we find that there is no room to put anything else in it. It's like when you go to the coffee shop and they ask you if you would like room for cream. You say, "No, I have no need of cream today." Yet they still give you a half-empty cup of coffee. You thought you wanted a full cup of coffee, however that is not what you got because there is room for plenty more. Ephesians 5:18 tells us not to be drunk with wine but rather to be filled with the Spirit.

Why do we get drunk? Escape? To have fun? To loosen up? When Paul was writing there were whole religious feasts dedicated to getting really loaded, having orgies and tearing live animals apart with bare hands. Some times we drink for comfort, sometimes we drink to remember, sometimes we drink to forget. Alchohol is simply a substance that we use to alter our state of mind. Yet we are exhorted (commanded) not to get drunk. Are we getting a raw deal out of this? Obviously this verse does not say that followers of Jesus should never have a drink, but it is saying that the use of this substance (and by indirect application: any substance) should be held to a moderation that leaves us in our natural state of mind. Does that mean that as followers of Jesus we are getting the short end of the stick because we are not to be having fun with the saturnalian props of our worldly counterparts?

We come dangerously close to legalism again...is this a sin? Is that a sin? How much is too much? When should I stop and how much can I have? What is the acceptable Heavenly BAC (Blood Alcohol Content)? Drop it. Lose it! Stop thinking that way. It is wrong. It is wrong because it misses the point. The point is not, "When does it become a sin?" but rather "What reason does the Christian have to drink?" I have some suggestions of why and some judgments of those reasons.

Because of the taste - Good reason!

Because of the fellowship that happens over a beer or a glass of wine drunk responsibly - Good reason!

Because I had a rough day at work - BAD REASON

So what could be the difference? Why is it wrong to drink to cope with a problem and right to drink in such a way that celebrates what God has made, done, or is doing? The assumption here is that we are already not drinking in excess, but what's the difference? The difference is the dependence. If we have a rough day at work God doesn't want us to comfort ourselves alcohol! He wants us to look to His Spirit as the Comforter! (the other assumption that I am making is that the party in question is old enough to drink legally. If not the Word is clear: drinking becomes breaking the law, which in turn will break fellowship with God).

It's amazing to realize that people even accused Jesus of being a drunkard! (Matthew 11:19) Why would that be? Perhaps in part because Jesus did drink wine and didn't do the silly thing that all humans expect: Holy=aestheticism (denying ones self any form of pleasure or health). Legalism again! But I believe there was more to it. I believe that Jesus was so joyful, so full of life, so full of love, kindness and pleasure that drunkenness would only lessen His great mirth! People thought that He was so full of life and happiness that He must be drunk, because they had never seen anyone in perfect communion and fullness of the Holy Spirit!

Now back to our Ephesians verse. Why are we not to get drunk on wine? Because life with Christ, Life walking in the Spirit, Life to the fullest, is so much better than drunkenness that drunkenness is just a hazy imitation of the full joy, peace, happiness, humor and life that is already given to us in the Spirit. It is our foolishness that looks elsewhere for the life that is only given from God in Christ by the Holy Spirit! Yet we do this anyway. I think the thing that makes us continue to do this is a lack of faith. We don't believe that God can comfort us and give us that much life (we doubt God's ability), we don't believe that God cares enough to give it to us (we doubt God's Character), we don't believe we have earned it so God won't give it to us (we doubt God's grace). This list may not be exhaustive. But I imagine we all go through each of these phases of doubting God. Behold Jesus through His word. Don't dare not to dare! Believe that what He has is better than what you are willing to settle for.