HEY MIKE! Several months ago I tried some alcohol with my friends. Since then, I’ve been tempted to drink again. What does the Bible say about alcohol?
— K.W., Whitesboro, Texas
It says a lot. Here are some highlights:
1. Drunkenness is completely off limits (see Ephesians 5:18).
2. Adults are permitted to drink a little wine for health reasons (see 1 Timothy 5:23). Yet in Numbers 6:3 God instructed those who wanted to make a special vow to “abstain from wine and other fermented drink.”
3. Romans 14:14-21 tells us to avoid doing anything that might cause another person to stumble. So if you openly kick back with a beer, you’re telling others that it’s okay to drink. And for a weaker brother, that may spell disaster.
With this in mind, your attitude shouldn’t be “Hey, this doesn’t hurt me, so what’s the big deal?” Instead, you need to ask yourself, “How will this affect my friends?”
4. First Corinthians 6:12 says, “ ‘Everything is permissible for me’ — but not everything is beneficial. ‘Everything is permissible for me’ — but I will not be mastered by anything.”
In other words, it’s not a question of “Can I drink?” It’s an issue of “Should I?” Those who are wise don’t try to see how close they can get to the edge without sinning. Rather, they tell themselves, “If I never take the very first drink, then I don’t have to worry about ever getting drunk or hurting myself and others.”
Having said all this, let me remind you, K.W., of what the Bible says regarding three other simple matters:
• Lying to parents: Don’t do it.
Was drinking with your friends something you had to hide from your parents?
• Disobeying parents: Don’t do it.
Did you have your parents’ permission to try alcohol?
• Disobeying the civil laws: Don’t do it.
If you are under the legal drinking age, you and your friends broke the law. The Bible says that is a no-no (see Romans 13:1-7). 
