My husband and I think it's okay to drink alcohol if done in moderation but we don't want it to adversely affect our kids. Is this okay?
You know, the whole question of what role alcohol plays in a family is a crucial question when it comes to our role as parents.
Let me back up from this one, and kind of take in a bigger picture.
First of all, for some parents, the better thing for them is not to have any alcohol in their home and not consume any, because they were brought up in a home with alcoholism, they might have a propensity towards it, they have struggled with it in the past, maybe they struggled as a teenager, and you’re better off for your own sake not to have it part of your life.
But when you look at it from a biblical point of view, what does the Bible say? Well, the Bible doesn’t forbid people from consuming alcohol. If you take the whole counsel of God, you can take some isolated verses and prove your point, but you have got to take the whole Bible. It doesn’t forbid them. What it says is, we are not supposed to be intoxicated.
So, if you don’t have a background or something that you are worried about, a balanced way to do this thing is, you say, “OK. If we’re going to have alcohol in our home, we want to show our kids how to handle it properly and respectfully.” And the Bible gives you that freedom, as long as you take these other contingencies there.
If there are weaker people in your life—and there could be relatives, friends, a neighbor—then you don’t drink alcohol there. And you have got to keep in mind that there is an example to the kids.
You know, alcohol is one of the biggest problems among teenagers today. So, you have got to study your kids, and for their sake, you make the choice that is best for them.
Now, in our home, because of the struggles that kids have with alcohol, we chose that we’re not going to have any beer in our home. Why? Because this is a big problem. Plus, I worked with young people, and I didn’t want to misrepresent it. Did I feel like that meant I could never have any of it? No. That’s not what the Bible says. I just did it in deference to them.
But God does give us freedom if we want to, as long as we make sure we’re not using this thing just for our own indulgence and not taking into consideration the impact it has on others.
Listen, the best thing you can do is show your kids how to handle these things properly, rather than just forbid them and do a broad-brush condemnation of it.
The Bible puts the bubble in the middle, and the more you can do that with yourself as well as your kids, the more you set them up to play out a life filled with grace and for God’s glory in the future.