Aric introduced me to the 7 & 7 a while back and frankly, I'm in love. I don't know what it is but it tastes perfect. I'm not much of a whiskey man, or hard alcohol man for that matter, but the "Seagram's" is muy bueno.
I just purchased my second bottle of "Seagram's 7" and once again, it was weird. As I walked up the alcohol isle at Smith's, I really struggled buying the booze. I don't know if it's what it looks like to people or what.
I remember the first time I bought a bottle of Seagram's 7. I stood there and analyzed what people would think of me if they saw a bottle of whiskey in my house. Would they think less of me, I'm a lush, etc...? I really struggled with it. Why can others feel free to buy that crap and I can't? It must have been a sight to passer byers to see me standing there looking up at the alcohol like a little kid. What is this guy doing? Why won't he get out of the way?
Last weekend, I mentioned I went to Santa Cruz. My buddy Scotty and me made some killer margaritas. Actually, it was Scotty. No, I did not have any issue buying the booze there but I did feel weird drinking in front of my buddy Jeff and his wife. It's not that I feared they would judge me because I know they are not like that but I feared they would think that I've changed for the worse. That I'm not Matty any more. That I'm not following Jesus. That they would not want to be my friend, or they wouldn't trust me any more. All this ran throug my brain all because of a little booze.
Would this really happen? No, of course not. Jeffy and Charissa aren't like that in the least. So why do I fear these judgements? I have these fears with many of my christian friends. What will they think of me?
The thing is, I'm not so scared of what people think any more like in my past. At least with the majority of people. I'm only nervous around the people that I call friends, best friends. The people who I know would not judge me. Why is this?
I know I've changed but I think it's a good change. I even wonder about the changes myself. Am I getting too liberal? Am I still following Jesus like I should? Does he condone me having two glasses of 7 & 7 or a couple margaritas? Am I doing okay?
Well, the analytical "Matty" brain continues and I continue to think things through a little too much. I make things an issue that really shouldn't be an issue and I worry about things that shouldn't be worried about.
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7 comments:
I think you can work that out with you & Jesus. The question you ask, why is it ok for them but not for me? I've felt the same feelings before. Is it not ok for me? Who told me that? The Bible...no. The culture/environment I grew up in...yes. The alcohol issue is a divisive as immunizations. I know you & know that you're probably not going to get hammied & knock on your neighbors door in the buff. If you did however I'd ask Ebony to take a picture.
I grew up in the opposite environment. It was cool to drink and get wasted. Then I was Catholic, where they serve wine at church. When I started hearing people preaching that Christians should not drink alcohol EVER, I found it a bit of a shocker. So, I researched the Good Book and couldn't find any evidence supporting that, but it isn't good to get wasted either. What I am trying to say Matty, is that you are welcome to have a beer or margarita around me anytime, I will probably join you:)
I used to go to a church where the pastors condoned drinking alcohol. Even a glass of wine with dinner. Their reason was that what if someone out there who had an alcohol problem saw me/you/them having a glass of wine or other alcoholic beverage? Would that cause the person with the problem to stumble? So to avoid being a stumbling block they told everyone in their church not to drink. I don't remember them ever going as far as saying that it was a "sin" but they definitely made a point to tell us not to drink. I can remember an instance where the pastor found out that Jake had some wine in Germany on the "wine train" and he was not very happy with Jake.
I like to go back to the first miracle - Jesus turned water into wine at a wedding. And not some cheap wine - he turned that water into the best wine. The best! Can you imagine drinking wine made by Jesus? There's a winery in Lodi and they make wines called the 7 Heavenly Chards and the 7 Deadly Zins. Ha ha. I wonder what Jesus called his wine.
Anyway, all of that to say that I think it's what you do with the alcohol that matters. Do you get drunk? No, you honor your body - it's a temple. Are you still following Jesus like you should? That's between you and Jesus my friend but I don't think that having a few drinks is going to change Jesus' mind about you.
Oh, and one of these days you'll have to try a Lava Flow and a Malibu Rum and Pepsi. Good stuff.
Funny, Seagrams 7 is something I haven't heard of since high school days when we actually did use it to get wasted. How did we get alcohol at that time anyways? We weren't even in our mid-teens.
Matty, I know what you mean about wondering about it all. Honestly, because I drank so much when I was in high school I gave it up completely for years and years and years. Now, I'm ok to have it in moderation but if I were around a Christian and it made them "stumble" I wouldn't hold tightly to my glass of wine. Like the Bible says, the Kingdom of God is about righteousness, peace and joy in Him, not about food and drink. So for me I'm trying to walk in a balance with it all. :D
I think the stumbling block point should be looked at. I had no idea what it meant in context but that I do, I feel more comfortable drinking in front of "believers."
Whenever I hear someone referred to as believers or non believers or unbelievers, I go straight to the xfiles. That would make a good blog topic.
you know i love you...without any hesitation...i woulda had that one margarita but it gave me too many memories of past experiences...what does that say about me? You're all good dude.
I know Jeffy. I don't question that. But you know how my brain operates. Thanks buddy!
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