Transcripts: Enjoy Life Forever!

Transcript: Should I Serve Alcohol?
[Text: John Ekrann. Helper to the Coordinators Committee]
John: What Bible principles could help a couple to decide whether to serve alcohol at their wedding? What principles and scriptures do you think would help them make a balanced decision? Again, you’re welcome to pause the program if you’d like to write down what comes to mind or to research something. Now, your list probably has some of these principles. At John 2:9, Jesus made wine for a wedding. However, 1 Corinthians 6:10 says that ‘drunkards will not inherit the Kingdom.’ And 1 Corinthians 10:31, 32 says: “Whether you are eating or drinking . . ., do all things for God’s glory” and to “keep from becoming causes for stumbling.” Now, it doesn’t seem that any one principle provides the answer. The couple could simply say: “Well, Jesus served wine at a wedding, so we can too.” However, there’s really more to it than that, isn’t there? It’s clear that a balance of all these Bible principles is needed. Will relatives or others be there who might be prone to over drinking? Would serving alcohol bother the conscience of many present because of local customs and feelings about alcohol? It’s often the case when making decisions that we need to balance several Bible principles, not taking any one principle solely on its own merit. Jehovah expects us to use our “power of reason” to balance Bible principles and make good decisions. Ecclesiastes 7:16-18 gives us good advice about being balanced. “Do not be overly righteous, nor show yourself excessively wise. Why should you bring ruin to yourself? Do not be excessively wicked, nor be foolish. Why should you die before your time? It is best to grasp one warning without letting go of the other; for the one who fears God will heed them both.” How true. Such balance between extremes is often necessary when we apply Bible principles. We need to heed them both, so to speak. We need to balance all the Bible principles so we can come to the decision that would show love of God and love of neighbor.
(Logo: Black capital letters JW.ORG inside a white box. Copyright 2017 Watchtower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania)