There were some important spiritual leadership lessons that should have been learned during last week’s Senate Judiciary hearings. Lessons about due process, proper respect for women, determining the validity of testimony, the importance of absolute truth, the ineptness of indecision and the gravity of just one vote were all on prominent display.

However, there was one spiritual lesson that I haven’t heard anyone discuss even though it was front and center throughout the hearings. It’s a simple principle that needs to be underscored…especially by young people: You can spare yourself a lot of trouble if you decide early in life to abstain from alcohol.

The accusations of sexual misconduct against Judge Brett Kavanaugh were focused on drinking parties back when the judge was in high school. He confessed that during that period he often drank beer, “sometimes too much beer,” before he was of legal drinking age. He explained that he was an honor student and an active athlete, but like most of his contemporaries, he attended parties with friends where underage drinking was prevalent and became excessive.

Dr. Christine Ford, Kavanaugh’s accuser, also confessed that over thirty years ago, when she was fifteen, she went to a teen party where there was a lot of drinking in which she participated as well. She alleged that during the party Brett Kavanaugh attempted to rape her. She tearfully explained that the memory of that assault has negatively impacted her entire life.

Since Judge Kavanaugh vehemently denied the charges, it was inevitable that there would be numerous questions from Senate investigators about his drinking habits. Did he ever get drunk at those high school parties? Was he more aggressive when he drank? Did he ever black out and not remember what he did the night before? Did he drink on weekdays or only on weekends?

If Brett Kavanaugh and Christine Ford had heeded the advice my parents gave to me, they would have chosen to be total abstainers from alcohol, avoided such a party, and the entire mess that surfaced over thirty years later would have been completely avoided. There’s a wise old saying, “Past mistakes limit future options.” The Bible puts it simply: ”Be sure your sin will find you out.” God can forgive us of any sin, but the earthly consequences of our mistakes linger on. Again the Bible warns, “You reap what you sow.”

Today, it probably sounds puritanical and unrealistic to many, but I grew up in a church that taught that total abstinence from alcohol was a primary indicator of spiritual authenticity.  When pressured about the issue, my parents and other church leaders conceded that abstinence from alcohol was not a Biblical command, but it protected our Christian witness and was the wisest choice of behavior. Then they often quoted 1 Corinthians 10:23 “Everything is permissible – but not everything is beneficial.  Everything is permissible – but not everything is constructive.”

Christians shouldn’t judge one another in matters of opinion, but we should carefully weigh the consequences of our choices. While I don’t make drinking a test of fellowship or friendship, I choose to abstain totally from the use of alcohol for several reasons:

First, alcohol – especially today’s distilled liquor with its high alcoholic content – weakens willpower.  I already have a difficult time resisting temptation without ingesting a substance that quickly makes resistance even more difficult.

Second, I believe if I don’t drink alcohol the odds my children and grandchildren would ever struggle with alcoholism are reduced significantly.  I can’t point to a study to prove that; I just instinctively know that my example matters.

Third, I don’t want to support an industry that has contributed to so much crime, bloodshed, and heartache throughout the world. In 2016, 10,497 people died in alcohol-impaired auto accidents. Researchers estimate that nearly 2,000 college students die annually in accidents directly related to alcohol abuse, and over half a million students between the ages of 18-24 have been assaulted by another student who had been drinking. Despite these alarming statistics, the alcohol industry intentionally targets youth in its advertising. And even though they warn, “Please drink responsibly,” I choose not to contribute to their industry.

After the recent judiciary hearings, I would add one more reason to be a total abstainer. Consumption of alcohol frequently leads to depravity and makes us vulnerable to all kinds of accusations…for the rest of our lives. If Judge Brett Kavanaugh had been a total abstainer in high school, it might have saved him a lot of heartache decades later.

“Who has woe? Who has sorrow? Who has strife? Who has complaints? Who has needless bruises? Who has bloodshot eyes? Those who linger over wine, who go to sample bowls of mixed wine. Do not gaze at wine when it is red, when it sparkles in the cup, when it goes down smoothly! In the end, it bites like a snake and poisons like a viper. Your eyes will see strange sights, and your mind imagine confusing things.” (Proverbs 23:29-33)

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