High School Alcohol

The latest report on the drinking habits of our young high school students makes for heartbreaking reading. It seems that there are some 11 year olds who drink more than an adult. The reports of regular drunkenness in early teens at weekends is staggering (literally!). The report has been conducted by a reputable study group, so is reliable, and covers England and Wales. The Scottish schools can not smirk, as I believe we are just as bad. But why? What has caused the epidemic of alcohol abuse in schools? Added to this, another report issued in December, says that admissions to hospital for alcohol induced liver disease in Northern England has increased by 100% since 2002! Did you catch that figure? It’s not a mistake, and tells a story of heartache and heartbreak in families across our nation. What went wrong?

How about these are suggestions? Just my own thoughts:

1. We as a society have succeeded in convincing ourselves that there is no morality, and you can do what you want, as long as it feels right, and you think it harms no one.

2. The church no longer has any influence in society, again because we have convinced ourselves that we are a progressive, secular and modern society, without any need for morality.

3. Adults have not been able to provide a good and decent set of role models. The role models of choice for teenagers are celebrities, footballers, and stars. Using these lifestyles as role models is asking for trouble, and a recipe for moral disaster. You only have to watch the news, or read the newspapers

4. Figures of traditional authority are held in distrust and ridicule. School teachers have had their authority removed, and now cannot discipline wrongdoing, even for serious incidents.

5. Parents are afraid to discipline their children for fear of being reported. So, kids have found that they have a very wide tolerance of wrongdoing. So much so, that they can get away with just about anything if they want to, and they know it.

Who has allowed this to happen? Answer, you and me, by letting our moral standards slip, because we bought into the idea that some so called clever-clogs and educated deceivers must know best. They have made sure we forfeited our birthright and blessing, just like Jacob for a mess of lentils. So, what did you expect of our young charges, or our national love affair with alcohol? It’s not all their fault, so why should we sound surprised?

I think it is time for churches to step up to the challenge, and teach and preach and live alcoholic abstinence. That idea will get me into trouble, probably from those who will say predictably: “I know how to drink responsibly”, or “Don’t lump me in with those people, because I am better than that”, or “The church has no right to preach abstinence, or tell us what to do”, or “Let me decide for myself when it is time to change my drinking habits”, or even “The Bible doesn’t tell me NOT to drink alcohol”. All of these arguments will be voiced by christians, and non christians alike. After all, the Bible doesn’t tell me not to drink, just to be careful how to use it, and what about Jesus’ miracle at Cana? These points may be valid, but neither can we ignore those passages which give dire warnings against the use of alcohol. Neither does the Bible give any direct commandment against things like, polygamy, smoking, gambling, movies to watch, and even abortion, but we do use the spirit of God’s Word to make our choices, not the letter of the law. That is using God’s Grace, and certainly not legalism! At the end of the day, it may depend on just where you place your own responsible Scriptural interpretation and lifestyle example to those who are watching, like our youth. That takes us back to where we started! I have refrained from quoting Scripture for each of these choices, but how about thinking on a related verse found in 1 Corinthians 8:9: Be careful, however, that the exercise of your rights does not become a stumbling block to the weak.

I think it is time for our church(es) to accept the challenge of abstinence, and step out of its comfort zone, and show some leadership. Our nation needs leadership. Of course it might involve us changing our own habits, and doing something different for the greater good of the weaker brother or sister. Now that is a Scriptural concept, and Christ like. Right?