That person who does not neglect God, others or himself or herself, who partakes of alcohol but without letting it control his or her life, who has control over his or her life and alcohol, who enjoys drinking alcohol within reason as all should with alcohol, and not only alcohol but food and other comforts as well, does not sin.

Drinking alcohol can become sinful. It is a sin if abused as seen in Isaiah 5:11-13. There are those for whom it is a dangerous substance. But to say it is a bad thing for all is to be ignorant and unwise.

To say that something is a sin for some when it is not can cause men and women to lose heart and then they may not see sin in matters that are truly serious and dangerous to their souls.

It is not an easy subject. For much is left up to our own consciences. If one believes that drinking alcohol is a sin, then it is a sin for that person.

Our Lord Jesus, who is God become man, would have hardly performed as He did as His first miracle, let alone any miracle, the changing of the water into wine at the wedding feast of Cana were it a sin to drink. Large amounts at that.

God does permit and expect us on occasion to enjoy ourselves and celebrate. But within reason as it should and must be. He also would hardly have had wine as He so often did at supper were it sinful. God does not sin. Nor does He give bad example. Jesus would never drink to get drunk or permit it.

We are to know our limitations. And this is true not only with alcohol but food and other things as well. To get drunk on the wine of pride and power is an example of drunkenness without alcohol. See Hosea 13:6. See Proverbs 25-27 for a better understanding.

One can abuse almost anything: the want of honor and even money for example. And by abstaining from one thing that could lead to sin does not mean that the devil will not come at us with another kind of temptation.

Hoarding money is drunkenness just as bad as drinking to excess. One person may worship alcohol, another money. In all cases of abuse God’s will is ignored and that abuse becomes a false idol of worship.

Never let alcohol or anything else become a false idol you worship.

Money is not sinful in itself. It is not a sin to make it. But to be obsessed with it, to obtain it wrongfully, to waste it or to hoard it is sinful. In the same way it is not wrong to want to drink alcohol. But to be obsessed with it, to wrongfully drink it, to abuse it and overindulge in it is sinful.

Because of the sacredness of priestly duties, so as His priests never commit a sacrilege and offend Him and lead men astray by a bad example, God forbid them to drink any wine or strong drink. (Leviticus 10:8-11) In this case it is not hard to understand the necessity of this. But at the same time, however, there is no declaration or need for it that wine or strong drink is sinful. Only that being not of sound mind and judgment in performing priestly duties is sinful.

Do not get confused. Later, as priest and victim both, Jesus changes wine into His Blood. He does not take something that is sinful or not genuine and change it into His Blood.

The devil is always trying to pervert our thinking. He would pervert Jesus’ dying on the cross for our sins. There is no limit to his cunning.

In every way possible the devil has gone about and has succeeded in getting many Christians to deny Jesus in the form of the Holy Eucharist and to abstain from Jesus in the Holy Eucharist.

One example of this is: grape juice cannot be turned into the Blood of Christ.

May all God’s people pray and let God change all wrong thinking.

Your brother in Christ, Eddie