Bulletin Note 5.22.16

I read an article by a thirty-something young woman who was working for a start-up company in Colorado. She had worked for several such companies over a period of time, and in each case, faced the same issue. Her article was entitled, Do start-ups have a drinking problem? The obvious answer was, “Yes!” Her problem was that though she had quit drinking because of all the damage alcohol consumption had inflicted on her life, she still considered herself an alcoholic. She had been convinced it is a disease she inherited.
Her article clearly revealed she had no godly influences in her life, so all she had was her world perspective. She recounted numerous and frequent binges among co-workers, free alcohol provided on the job, and staff all going to the bars after work for hours each night. As a non-drinker she was ridiculed and pressured to join in the drinking in every company she had worked for. Her angst was over not being accepted into the “inner circle” even though she repeatedly assured her boozing co-workers she had no opposition to alcoholic drink. Her problem is not a genetic one over which she has no control. Her problem is in her thinking.
Those who have come to faith in the Lord Jesus Christ have come to understand that doing destructive things is not something we can blame on our genetics. We have come face to face with the harsh reality of taking responsibility for all the bad choices we have made. We have learned that many things we once excused, dismissed, or ignored, are things that were identified by our Creator as sins. We learned that rather than treating them as disease, or as pesky pricks to our conscience, leftover from some former Puritanical culture, our need was to confess and repent and then to experience the forgiveness provided by our Saviour.
Romans 6:17-18 But God be thanked, that ye were the servants of sin, but ye have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered you. Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness.