Akhil, why don't you drink?

I have received this question countless times. And I respond, “that is a brilliant question”. But I always get a feeling that the person I converse with presumes “oh, he thinks it is righteous to abstain from alcohol” or “maybe he doesn’t drink because he’s a Christian”.

Well, is that the reason or is there something else? Maybe there is something else. Stick around.

First off, let us go to the Bible. What does the Bible have to say about alcohol and drinking?

Ecclesiastes 9:7 “..And drink your wine with a merry heart.”

Psalms 104:15 “And wine that makes glad the heart of man..”

Amos 9:14 “..They shall plant vineyards and drink wine from them..”

That is a lot of positives right there. It seems like wine is intended for enjoyment, celebration, and the like. Jesus turned water into wine for your information! From all these verses, I see that it is intended for good and there is nothing wrong in its consumption. However, let me be clear that drunkenness (excessive drinking/ addiction to it) is a separate issue which is condemned by the Bible simply because nothing good ever comes out of it.

Second off, let us investigate what people working in the medical field have to say. “Statistics show that modest drinkers tend to outlive those who abstain from drinking or drink heavily” – Dr. Randy Martin. Wow, that sounds cool. What is modest drinking? In Dr. Randy’s own words, “No more than one drink for women and two drinks for men is considered to be modest amount of alcohol”. You may want to look up why modest drinking is beneficial (clue: antioxidants in alcohol). Since I am no expert, I am going to quote Dr. Rob Hicks in the next few lines. “We have to remember that alcohol is a drug and if it’s misused, not only can it become addictive, but it can damage the liver, the pancreas; it can increase our blood pressure which in turn puts us at greater risks of heart attacks and strokes. From an emotional point of view, it increases the risk of us becoming depressed as alcohol is a depressant.” I believe this is precisely why the choice is ours and the ball is in our court.

So Akhil, did you deduct from all that alcohol is not worth your time and hence remain a teetotaler?

Well, to be honest, I did not even know half of those things until I researched it for writing this material. So, what is my reason then? It is seldom that people keep promises. We love to promise something to someone and then, when inconvenient, break it. The one promise I gave my mother when I left home for higher studies is ‘I would abstain from drinking’ (haha, it was one of the things she was worried I would get into as I engage in a different culture). Well, let us say, to keep that promise far outweighed FOMO or any peer pressure. Which is why I join folks who drink, I don’t mind spending time with them and having fun, so long as I keep that good old promise.