The Lies of Alcohol

It’s Friday, someone you know is getting drunk tonight based on one of the lies I am about to mention below. Please read what God has placed on my heart and share this with your friends and family, hopefully they read these words and something connects to their spirit.

One year, nine months and seven days ago, I made the decision to give up drinking alcohol. This was not a decision I made up on my own, God had led me to this decision. For the past year I have noticed changes in my life and those around me. As I thank God for putting that decision on my heart I can’t help but feel that he wants me to share what alcohol can do to our lives. Below I will be telling you what I have observed about this crucial decision in my life to give up alcohol. If there’s one thing I want you to take away from this post it’s that God loves you, He wants what is best for you and I hope you see how all these lies are blocking you from Gods best for you.

The Lies of Alcohol

The worst part about being told a lie is sometimes you do not want to believe it. You may even know it’s being told to you but you accept it as unchangeable. The first lie of alcohol I want to talk about is dependency.

DEPENDENCY

It’s five o’clock on Friday and your weekend is about to begin. You’re excited to meet up with your friends and grab a drink at Happy Hour. Finally it is your time to RELAX. The first thing you look forward to on your time off is a drink.  I speak from experience when I say this type of mentality is dependency. Anytime you believe that you need alcohol to relax that means you are DEPENDING upon alcohol to relax, that my friend is called dependency. You can argue this up and down but look at the bottom line, you are depending upon a substance to help relax your body, mind and spirit. Anytime you are putting your hope in alcohol to relax you, you are not depending upon God. Now I am not against alcohol or enjoying the taste but God does not want you to be dependent upon anything but Him. Anytime you do, you are replacing God with an idol, something that cannot fill that God shaped hole. God tells us the only thing that can give us peace is his presence, in this instance I am referring to prayer. Use prayer as your relaxation tool, God knows your heart and the week you have had, do not tell yourself alcohol is the answer because that is a lie, it is a temporary relief. I remember the first time I went on vacation after giving up alcohol, I was on the beach for five minutes before I was craving a beer. Those cravings tormented me, besides I was on vacation and it was my time to relax. The truth is if I could not find relaxation by simply being away from my responsibilities back home and my everyday duties then I had a problem, a dependency issue.

SOCIALIZE

Another lie which is by far the most over looked in our society is the need to drink to socialize. The thought that you have to have a drink to blend in, I hear all the time “it’s what you do in your 20s and 30s.” This is by far the biggest lie in my generation because of the added peer pressure, you do not want to be the odd ball out. This is one I have fought and wrestled with, honestly it was the one lie that I struggled with the most. People begin to question why you’re not drinking, as if you need a reason not to drink. I hope you hear my heart on this next statement because I am not condemning anyone but fear the lies you have been told. YOU DO NOT HAVE TO DRINK TO SOCIALIZE. We are social by nature. If you are depending on alcohol to “be yourself” or because it allows you to be more fun, social or outgoing, you are depending upon alcohol to build your self-esteem, and this is a lie. You are who God created you to be without alcohol, if you do not like who you are sober then you need to find comfort in who you are before you add alcohol. I pray if you are reading this that you are beginning to hear how these lies may play a part in your life, a close friend, relative or spouse who may have a drinking issue. You often see people get into relationships and stop going out as much, the lie that you have to go out and be social in bars or other public places to meet that special someone is a lie. My advice for you is to follow your passions, the things you treasure the most and you will find that person there. This may be at church, volunteering, work, sporting event, family reunion (just kidding) but you get my point. Do not let being single be a reason to go out every weekend. I do realize people meet at bars all the time, this is not a bad thing, just be careful that alcohol isn’t the foundation of that relationship.

FUN

This may be one of Satan’s biggest ploys to get you to drink, that everything is more fun and exciting when alcohol is involved. He convinces us if you just had that perfect martini or blue moon to go with this event that it would one up the current feelings you are having, this is a lie. I promise you my fun level has not gone down by cutting out alcohol, I just remember everything now. You do not need alcohol to attend concerts, sporting events or dance your feet off at weddings, I can attest to that.

HURT

Alcohol is known for numbing your senses, one way it numbs you is by numbing your heart. You become detached from feelings of emotion. The worst part about this kind of hurt is you pretend it does not affect anyone and you begin to go on the defense. Your actions, your words and your thoughts are not as pure when under the influence of alcohol. I am convinced that over consumption of alcohol only brings out the worst of people and that no good comes from drinking. Now you may have read that last statement and said “Zach I do not abuse alcohol, I have a drink or two.” You can get a buzz off drinking one or two. A buzz is not healthy to the mind or heart either. I have a friend who enjoys alcohol but he gets upset with himself if he starts to feel a bit tipsy because he knows that it can go down quickly. When I was at Ohio University we had an alcohol responsibility campaign called “Stop at the Buzz”. At the time I thought it was dumb but now I see why they say to stop at the buzz, it’s because they know that is a pivotal moment in drinking. You are either on your way to being drunk or slowing down toward sobriety. You cannot maintain a buzz. If you believe you can maintain a buzz, then ask yourself if you could get a DUI while just having a buzz, the answer is you can and if caught, you will. I do not say this make people feel guilty but too many people in our society are casual with their drinking. DUI’s ruin lives, be responsible if you do decide to have a drink is all I’m saying, have a plan, a ride.

BODY

One lie I do not need to convince anyone of is that alcohol damages the body. God says that our body is a temple. The negative effects of alcohol are headaches, nauseous, vomiting, being light headed, loss of memory, diarrhea, liver problems, impaired vision and more. If you consume alcohol to the point where it gets to a buzz then the truth is you will experience one of the listed side effects. I have never once regretted not drinking but I have regretted many times when I have drank. There is no worse feeling than waking up with a headache or the feeling of laziness. For those that know me they know I am a very productive person. When I would wake up after a night of drinking, even if it was just a few my productivity plummeted. You may not realize it but this causes a lot of stress. If you are not able to get done the errands, tasks or projects around the house that you had hoped to get done it begins adding stress. Stress has a negative effect on your body, alcohol lies and tells you that you will get something done eventually, but that never happens. The biggest influence I have noticed on my body from not drinking would be my physical appearance. If you struggle with your weight, energy, mental attitude, you may want to ask yourself if alcohol plays a part in that. When I gave up drinking, my energy level went up, it was easier to maintain a healthy body or stay in shape. My emotions became more stable, I thank God for this every day.  Mentally you are sharper, you begin thinking more clearly. Alcohol is a depressant, if they had this word on a beer label no one would want to drink it.

MONEY

Every time I watch television I cannot go five minutes without seeing an advertisement for alcohol, “you can be the life of the party” or “live it up with up with a Budweiser this weekend”. The lie is that alcohol is an investment of fun, this is a lie. If you are relying on alcohol to have fun, that means you are being dependent on alcohol to enjoy life, we in the counseling field call that dependency. Are you starting to see the trend? My point with all this is not to bash alcohol but to tell you the truth of how alcohol lies to us. I’ve said it once and I’ll say it again, alcohol does not add anything special to your life. If this post sounds a bit harsh it’s because I have to be over the top with my words because I speak with conviction. These are all lies that I believed for many years and I see it every time I go out to bars to minister to people. Alcohol is an investment in their fun, that it adds something to their lives, the truth is that is a lie. They are trying to fill a God shapes hole with a substance. Now I believe you can go drink, go to bars and have a drink but remember to stop before the buzz. Do not expect alcohol to add anything, drink to enjoy the taste, not to get drunk.

ALCOHOL

This next line may shock some of you who actually finished reading this long post but drinking alcohol is not a sin. Jesus drank alcohol, yet never sinned or did anything wrong. In fact his first miracle was turning water into wine. God created it for us to enjoy. GOD INVENTED ALCOHOL, therefore he wants us to enjoy it. He also wants us to use it properly, unfortunately we live in a culture of abundance. We abuse, over use and exceed a lot of our blessings in life. Alcohol is meant for pleasure and enjoyment but please do not listen to the lies I have listed above. You do not need alcohol to have fun, relax, and enjoy life. If you think alcohol adds to your life, you are being dependent upon the influence alcohol has on you. I say this with a strong conviction, as someone who once listened to all the lies listed above. What I realized is that I could not have a close relationship with God because I was putting too much influence on alcohol and not enough in God. Now you may not be the one being affected by the influence of alcohol but someone you know may be, please share this post with them.

Closing Thoughts

My heart is that people will read this and something will speak to them. I have been a drunk, a social drinker and now a sober minded person. I can tell you in all honesty, I have never regretted giving up alcohol. If you question if you are listening to any of these lies I would challenge you to do the same thing God challenged me with, GIVE UP ALCOHOL FOR ONE MONTH STRAIGHT. This means no short cuts, no cheating, and no tastings, give it up. Start today, not next week after that big event, now! Your friends may not like it or agree with it so you cannot always depend on them to support you in this.  If you struggle during that month, journal about it, talk about it with an accountability partner, if you need someone to talk to please email me and I will encourage and support you. My email is Zachary.Tyler.White@gmail.com My hope is that people will begin to hear truth and stop listening to lies. That month for many of you will be one of the biggest turning points in your life. If you try the month and you fail, that is okay, try again. Keep trying until you can go that full month. If you want to know my secret, I go one day at a time. I count the days I’ve been sober, not the months or years. Pray every day, ask God for the strength. I put my hope in Jesus and the words he spoke to me that night. I wear a bracelet with the verse Philippians 4:13 “I can do all things through Jesus Christ, who gives me strength.” I’ve tried going a month on my own and it was impossible, but with God all things are posisble. I pray He does the same for you! I love you and I am praying for all who read this!! Thanks for reading.