Now think of how alcohol is made. It is put in a big vat and let cure or ferment for a while and then filtered and made into the drink you so crave. It may taste good, but is it really good for you? Just like the steak that was left out, it may taste great but then comes the real effect.

I used to enjoy a non-alcoholic brew from time to time, and was severely admonished by those that drank the real thing that the O’douls I had, with one half of one percent alcohol content, was indeed alcohol so why was I drinking that but telling others they should not drink alcohol. When you think that simple mouthwash is up to 28% alcohol and you get more from rinsing with that than you get from a can of O’douls, you can see the ridiculousness of that argument. I have also been told that they don’t like the O’douls because it has no alcohol and they really like the alcohol. I found it is not the taste so much as the fact that it does not have the alcohol content that makes it so distasteful. And the fact that the alcoholic stuff is far cheaper to get than any of the non-alcoholic drinks, makes it far more appealing to those that want to indulge.

Many that are alcoholic will be affected by even the one half of the one percent of the alcohol content, which legally is non-alcoholic. So it is still best even with that, not to indulge, as it can give the wrong impression or get someone back into something that they had a terrible time getting rid of.

So I have said good-bye to even the non-alcoholic beverages, and do not really miss them.

It was a bit of a hard decision, but it will be worth it in eternity. I think I need to live a Holy life before the Lord. I was told once by my pastor's wife that it would be wrong for her to drink, but that it might be OK for someone else, she wasn't going to judge. She quoted a scripture that Paul wrote in Philippians. It was, "Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. 13 For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure. (Php 2:12-13)." So we must all work out our own salvation. We must ask the Lord to show us what He would have us to do. As for me, I have been convicted that it is more important for me to live holy than to drink a little alcohol once in a while.

Here are some scriptures I stand on:

1 Thessalonians 5:22,23: Abstain from all appearance of evil. And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Galatians 5:21: Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.

Romans 12:1,2: I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

2 Timothy 2:21,22: If a man therefore purge himself from these, he shall be a vessel unto honour, sanctified, and meet for the master’s use, and prepared unto every good work. Flee also youthful lusts: but follow righteousness, faith, charity, peace, with them that call on the Lord out of a pure heart.

My heart's desire is nothing more than to be used the way God would have me to be used. I wish to be set apart for His service. I can't do that if I am living like the world. I'm certainly not perfect, but that is one way I can become more so by getting rid of all of the worldly junk. I appreciate this article. It helped crystalize some thoughts I'd been having for a while now.

In Christ, mergandore