“Lots of kids at my school drink,” TJ said. “I’d never become an alcoholic, but I’m not so sure that a few drinks every now and then are wrong.”
“TJ, how do you know you won’t become an alcoholic?” Pastor Steve asked.
“I just know.”
“That’s not good enough, pal. Rehab centers are filled with people who said the same thing. The truth is, alcohol can be extremely addictive.”
“But, Pastor Steve . . . I still don’t get what the big deal is. I mean, even Jesus drank! In fact, his first miracle was multiplying the wine at someone’s wedding.”
“Yeah, you’re right, TJ. And that’s the first argument every Christian teen uses when they’re trying to rationalize alcohol.”
“Well, it makes sense, doesn’t it?”
“No, it really doesn’t. Again, you’ve gotta see the whole picture,” Pastor Steve said. “Jesus didn’t create some kind of drunken orgy at that wedding. In the Greek language—the language in which the New Testament was written—there are two words for wine. One is sikera, which means ‘strong drink.’ And the other is oinos, which was wine usually served diluted with water.”
“I don’t get it,” TJ said.
“What Jesus made was not sikera,” Pastor Steve explained. “What he made was oinos, which was not a strong drink. The Bible always condemns strong drink.”
“I never knew that,” TJ said.
“Another thing to keep in mind is the simple fact that it’s illegal for you to drink when you’re underage. The Bible tells us to respect government authority, which means we can’t in good conscience break the law.”
“Man. That puts a whole new spin on it,” TJ admitted. “Look, I don’t want to do stuff that God doesn’t want me to do. I just wasn’t sure this was that big of a deal.”
“It is a big deal, TJ. Any time you mess with your witness, it’s a big deal. The question you need to answer is: Do you want to be known for the fact that your relationship with Christ makes you different? Or do you want to be known for fitting in?”
“Jesus. I wanna be known for following Jesus,” TJ said. “Think you could open the youth center for some hoops this Friday night? I’m gonna need an alternative to that party.”
“You got it, TJ!”
This is an excerpt from : Devos for Teens
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