Written
11 November 05
It was sometime in Advanced Individual
Training (AIT) when I decided not drink after I found out I was going to spend two
years in Germany, for now it is not while I am in the Army. It is likely to
expand to probably the greater portion of my life in not it all. Something I am
certainly learning though is this is going to be a lot harder than I thought it
would be. In AIT it was a new experience, just hanging out in an atmosphere
where alcohol was synonymous with leisure, I figured people would go a little
crazy since it had been about three months without being able to drink or smoke
for everyone in my platoon. I figured, “Ehh they just wanted to make up for
lost time.” But as the freedom increased, the drinking did not decrease. Many
of my peers spent every morsel of their weekend at hotel parties. Is this what
everyone is talking about when they refer to the college scene? After all, the
demographics are about the same, except we will always get paid on time. It was
definitely easier in AIT. I was under age, not that this was a deal breaker but
it was an acceptable reason to abstain. I suppose at the time that was my
reason for not wanting to drink. Trying to have a social life within my bounds
of behavior is proving to be difficult. I have yet to find a group of
Christians or another practicing single Christian with which to hang. As I get
to know the people in my unit I don't think there are any single male
Christians in my company. It seems the majority of the people I would be
inclined to hang out with (more mature and see things closer to how I see them)
happen to be married.
Last night I went to the Irish Pub,
it was my first bar experience. There was nothing terrible about it, no raging
alcoholics; a rather uneventful experience. I am getting used to being in an
environment with alcohol and not partaking but for some reason there is a little
part of me that wants to try some. I faced similar feelings at Chi-Chi's on Tuesday
night also, the margaritas looked tasty. There are a range of people that
surround me at these events, almost always someone asks me if I want one and
most people make no big deal about not drinking, but others do press on that I
take “just a taste”. I’m sure many have started with “just a taste.” I know I
am not going to get drunk off of a sip, but that is not the point. My goal is
to get through the Army without drinking; to take a sip in my mind would ruin
it.
I
am feeling the pressure, I have thought “hey, maybe if I just take a sip then
they'd stop bugging me and that would be that.” However, that is not how sin
always knocks on our doors. I doubt there are many alcoholics who seek out to
let it ruin their life. Now don't get confused that I am claiming it is a sin
to drink, far from it. After all Christ's first public miracle was creating
wine from water, and it was the good stuff.
There are even references that note the health benefits to
take a drink. At the same time we are instructed not
to
get
drunk. For me I am speaking of James
4:17 in this situation. Sin is not a line dictated exactly through
scripture. Because sin is a separation between us and God and our connection to
God is a personal one, then the separation is also at the personal level. That
is how some things can be sin for some people and some things are not sin for
others, at the same time I need to be honest with myself of my daily battles.
Over
the last 3 months while people have been offering me and at sometimes nearly
forcing alcohol down my throat I have done some thinking as to make a more
meaningful reason to why
I don't drink and to stay committed to that decision. I think this is one
of the best ways of describing how Christians might fit into this world. We are
to live our lives differently than those around us. How we live our lives
differently is to our own deciding. I think one of the most effective ways of
living differently is not taking part in activities that we have every right to
take part in. I see my decision of not drinking as something that greatly separates
me from the vast majority of those around me. By sacrificing this small and
unused area in my life to God, that it will become much more than I see it as
now.
I
am of legal age both in Germany and in the US, there are no cultural qualms
against the use of alcohol as something unusual or odd, in fact it is rather
norm. In the US we have hotdogs and burgers, Germany has beer and bratwurst, it
is a very normal thing to drink. So with every right to take part in this
aspect of life and even a way to better fit in to the culture, I should take
part in drinking, but I think it is just those same reasons that makes my
sacrifice all the more useful for God to use. I suppose in the scheme of things
there are also such reasons as it is not healthy, it is expensive, and it
doesn't taste good, I know I have used those at some time or another but to
treat this as a spiritual act of worship, puts its importance to stay faithful
so much higher than any secular reason. Since I have laid this down before God,
to me, if I do take a drink it would be a sin. I felt compelled to write this
for two reasons, because it is getting harder to continue to say "no"
and I am asking for your prayers to keep me strong and true to my decisions. It
is also something of value to let you all know how I am really doing.
Epilogue: I took my first drink as a promise to a good friend in Germany, that if we encountered one another after the Army I would have my first drink with him. God did reunite us in the most evident ways, that should probably be a blog for its own time.
