In my defense. . .

Lately I feel like I’ve been getting a lot of flack from people belittling my decision not to partake of alcoholic beverages. I’ve been in several situations lately in which I feel like good friends of mine are somehow making fun of my decision or chalking it up to some old school Southern Baptist stronghold I’ve bought into. Or then there’s the other side of the argument, those who seem to think I only abstain from alcohol because of my job. That’s not the case, and I want to set the record straight once and for all. No more making fun of me!

• I made the decision not to drink a long, long, long time ago. Granted, I was raised in a family where alcohol was not an option and wasn’t even in my home. I know that me drinking large amounts of alcohol would hurt my parents very deeply. But that’s not the reason I don’t drink. I know myself well enough to know that I use food and other things to find comfort and make me feel good. If you’ve been around me when I’m depressed, you know I feed that depression with cookies and soda. I have a friend who says a few sips of alcohol makes her feel relaxed and destressed. Being who I am, I’d be using that for all it was worth. . .which is abusing alcohol. It’s too easy of a thing to let control me. It’s too easy of a pattern of behavior to fall into. It would too quickly become a problem in my relationship with Christ.

• I am the editor of a Christian magazine for teens for a Christian organization. Like it or not, I’m an example. I don’t want to find out years from now that something I did was a stumbling block for some reader. My picture’s in the magazine. These kids find me on MySpace. There’s a burden of responsibility to live above the scrunity.

• I don’t think consuming alcohol is wrong. As Paul said, “All things are permissable, but not all things are helpful.” (OK, so that’s a loose paraphrase.) Anyway, I don’t have a problem with it. I have dear friends who do drink. But I don’t choose to. As I said earlier, alcohol would become a way of handling my problems, interfere with my relationship with Christ, and be a stumbling block to faith for those around me.

• And finally, my great-grandfather was an alcoholic who spent most of his paychecks on alcohol and wasn’t a good father, friend, or anything, really. He died early on and the only picture I’ve ever seen of him seems to be a mug shot. Abusing anything has far-reaching effects and I still see some of those playing out on that side of my family. I don’t want that to be my life story. Alcoholism, whether you like to believe it or not, also tends to run in families. So I choose not to even let myself get to the place where it could be an option.

Just felt like I had to say all that. I’m not mad, just tired of feeling like my convictions are stupid because they don’t fit in with the way most of the world thinks about drinking alcohol.