Alcohol | Wayfarer

They promise freedom, but they themselves are slaves of sin and corruption. For you are a slave to whatever controls you. 2 Peter 2:19 (NLT)

This past Saturday night, Wendy and I went to see a new play performed at Central College. Dead Man’s Curve was adapted from the book Yellow Cab by Robert Leonard. Leonard, a former professor of anthropology at the University of New Mexico, shares his experiences of driving a Yellow Cab during the graveyard shift in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Through the play we are introduced to a wide variety of very real people with whom Mr. Leonard rubbed shoulders. He calls them “invisible people.” It was a fascinating ride. Days later, Wendy and I find ourselves continuing to talk about the people and stories to which we were exposed.

I thought about some of those people this morning as I read the chapter and particularly the verse above. Indeed, despite the promise of freedom, we are all slaves to those things which control us. It’s too easy to draw a dotted line from this truth to the common addictions of sex, drugs and alcohol. The more insidious truth I’ve come to believe is that there are far more people enslaved each day by socially acceptable appetites out of control like pride, hunger, control, greed, materialism, and even religiosity. Legalistic religiosity is simply the gluttonous indulgence of the human appetite for power and control. It is just the point Peter was trying to make in today’s chapter. That which promises freedom only creates a different version of slavery.

As we watched the play I was struck by the number of times drivers, who each had their own set of troubles and issues, acted out of love and compassion both for the needy and the foolish humans who happened into the backseat of their cab. Modern day Samaritans providing random acts of grace and kindness, often to those who didn’t really deserve it. Those acts of love are examples of the very essence of Jesus’ entire message. Freedom does not flow out of a license to do whatever we want, nor out of religious adherence to lists of rules meant to keep us away from doing what we shouldn’t. Freedom, Jesus said, flows out of the truth embodied when we obey the law of love He taught: To love the Lord with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength; To love our neighbor as we love ourselves.

30 Day Blogging Challenge Day 10: Your views on Drugs and Alcohol.

I find that people’s views on drugs and alcohol are largely shaped by their early experiences in their family of origin. In my family, adult beverages were consumed regularly but never to excess. My Grandpa Spec always enjoyed a “beer and a belt” at the end of the day referring to a glass of cold beer and a shot of Old Crow or whatever cheap whiskey he had in his shelf above the refrigerator. My Grandpa V enjoyed a tall little cordial of his favorite Cream Sherry before bed, and was known to make a Christmas fruit cake each year that was so doused in different liquors that it weighed about fifteen pounds and was inedible to everyone but the most adventurous souls. My folks would drink beer with certain meals and wine on special occasions. Moderation, responsibility and self-control with alcohol were modeled for me as a child and I have tried to model the same for my children.

I’ve never really been tempted by illegal substances. Drugs were never my deal. But I think that “drugs” has a much broader interpretation than we typically apply to it. I wonder at the hypocrisy I occasionally encounter with those who would zealously prohibit certain substances while refusing to acknowledge our addiction to others.

Sugar is a drug. It is a chemical to which our society is addicted. It creates a chemical reaction within our body leaving us with a false sense of pleasure and well being and it easily leaves us craving more and more until we are overweight, unhealthy diabetics. We scoff and criticize those who drink alcohol or those who would legalize pot while we snarf down another chocolate frosted sugar bomb at the church potluck. I don’t hear a lot of outcry about that.

Caffeine is also a drug. It is a stimulant that has a chemical effect on our body. It easily lures us into an unhealthy, even addictive cycle of being so stimulated we don’t rest well. We’re tired and strung out from not sleeping well so we return to our sugary caffeinated coffee or “energy” drinks . Not only do we refuse to acknowledge this, but we culturally promote it and celebrate it.

I’m reminded of the words of St. Paul when he said all things are permissable, but not all things are beneficial. All things are permissable, but we should not be mastered by any of them. Responsibility, moderation, self-control.

Would you like cream and sugar with that?