Tag: binge

A Non-Religious View Of Alcohol

Dale Pollard

Not all kids will be killed or harmed in an alcohol related incident, but many are. Not all marriages will be destroyed by alcohol-fueled abuse, but many have been. Not every crime that’s committed will somehow involve alcohol, but many do. As a preacher, I don’t need the Bible to help me formulate my opinion on alcohol. Nobody does. While the Bible has a lot to say about a lot of things, one doesn’t need to crack open The Good Book to find out whether or not alcohol will improve lives— or make lives worse. Consider the following statistics pulled from non-religious and globally respected sources.

This is the reality. 

Youth And Alcohol Don’t Mix 

People ages 12 to 20 drink 3.4% of all alcohol consumed in the United States. Although youth drink less often than adults, when they do drink, they drink more. More than 90% of all alcohol drinks consumed by youth are consumed through binge drinking

In 2021, 5.9 million youth ages 12 to 20 reported drinking alcohol beyond “just a few sips” in the past month.

In 2021, approximately 613,000 youth ages 12 to 20 reported binge drinking on 5 or more days over the past month. 

What could possibly go wrong? 

The possibilities are endless, and none of them are good. Problems related to underage drinking include trouble in school, unsafe sexual behavior, drinking and driving, aggressive or violent behavior, and trouble with the law. 

It Could Kill Them: Alcohol is a major factor in the deaths of people younger than 21 in the US each year. This includes deaths from car crashes, homicides, alcohol overdoses, falls, burns, drowning, and suicides. 

It Could Harm Them: In 2011 alone, about 188,000 underage drinkers found themselves in the emergency room for alcohol-related injuries. 

It Could Permanently Damage Them: Underage drinking leads to a higher risk of alcohol use disorder (AUD) later in life. Adults 26 and older who started drinking before age 15 are 3.5 times more likely to report having AUD in just the past year. 

Source: National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism 

Alcohol And Marriage Don’t Mix 

Two-thirds of victims of spousal abuse report that the perpetrator had been drinking at the time of the incident(s). This doesn’t just apply to the United States. Global studies show higher odds of domestic abuse if one or both partners are dependent on alcohol. 

Around 50% of marriages end in divorce. When alcohol abuse is present in a household, the chances of divorce nearly triple. 

Source: Alcohol Rehab Guide (Apr. 20, 2023) 

Alcohol And Crime Don’t Mix 

Excessive drinking has the ability to lower inhibitions, impair a person’s judgement and increase the risk of aggressive behaviors. Because of this, alcohol-related violence and crime rates are on the rise throughout the country. 

Alcohol is a leading cause of traffic fatalities. Drinking and driving kills 28 people a day in the U.S. — about one person every 52 minutes — according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). That’s more than 10,000 lives lost each year to drunk driving. 

Add. Source: National Institutes of Health (Mar 16,2023) 

These statistics speak for themselves. We should be careful as Christians what we say about alcohol consumption because it’s taken a lot from countless people. It’s taken health, wealth, children, spouses, and ruined otherwise bright futures. Alcohol simply costs far too much to fool with– and that’s not up for debate. 

Dispiriting Truths About Spirits

Neal Pollard

In one of those statistics so massive that it is hard to comprehend, Gallup reports that 187 billion liters (there are 33.8 ounces in a liter) of beer are drunk across the world each year. There are 24 billion liters of wine drunk globally each year. The U.S. ranks second in beer consumption and first in wine consumption, with no reports of hard liquor even included in this report (Andrew Soergel, US News, 10/2/14). Not only is alcohol a common feature at holiday parties and family events this time of year, it is woven into the fabric of just about every event you can think of in society.

The Washington Post relates that 33 million Americans are problem drinkers, which amounts to 14 percent of our population. Almost 69 million Americans report that they had been problem drinkers at some point in their lives, while 40 percent said they had engaged in binge drinking at least once in the past year (via Associate Press, 6/8/15).  Whereas we can so often get caught up in debates about social drinking, we may be ignoring the fact that a sizable number of Christians—whether new converts or longtime members—struggle with serious problems with alcohol. This is startling, given the Bible’s clear teaching and warning about drunkenness (cf. Rom. 13:13; 1 Cor. 5:11; 6:10; Gal. 5:21; 1 Pet. 4:3).

The Bible warns us about at least four clarion facts regarding alcohol:

  • Alcohol can be addicting (1 Tim. 3:3,8; Titus 1:7).
  • Alcohol can be enslaving (Titus 2:3).
  • Alcohol can make one reckless (Eph. 5:18).
  • Alcohol can be costly (Prov. 23:29-35).

It seems wise to think about these sober warnings God communicates to us through Scripture. There should be a vigilance, in view of eternity, about a substance that not only can but endlessly has done so much harm to individuals, their families, and society. May we wake up to the problems alcohol is already causing in too many homes, including the homes of those trying to live the Christian life. May we help each other to overcome any obstacle that bars the way to heaven. Nothing here is valuable enough to sacrifice what awaits us there.