The Line of Sin: Let me begin by saying that I am far from perfect and a sinner through and through. I don’t condemn those who I know are living lives filled with sin, but I look at my own life and see where I need to make course corrections. Throughout my life I have had one sin or another that I have battled. I suppose that right now worry is the current war against the flesh, maybe a lack of faith in God’s provision.

But there are sins that just don’t get in my way. I wish that all sin was this way, and maybe I have the secret and just need to apply it to everything in my life. In Jerry Bridges “The Pursuit of Holiness” he shares that most people look at sin as “how far can I go until this is sinful” while the holy person says “this is sinful, I must stay as far away from that as possible”. There is the difference.

I have one area that I have “mastered” for years. To many this isn’t a sin, but because I have chosen that narrow road and said that I need to stay as far away from it as possible, it has been much more easy for me. I have one good friend who has even bragged about his appreciation of this area. It is the drink. Alcohol, booze, hooch, whatever you want to call it. I have said that I will not indulge and stay away. At a large golf outing recently I was the lone abstainer. It seemed to bother the other guys in my foursome more than it did me. I have become used to seeing the strange faces when I say no to a glass of wine at dinner, a beer on the golf course, or a glass of Frangelico after a big meeting. But this is the line that I have chosen. It is closer than others, and it is easy for me.

This week a study by the University of Washington has said that even one drink can seriously impair you. I have thought this all along. If a state says that .08 makes you legally drunk, isn’t .079 really just about the same? If I get pulled over because of erratic driving and blow a .05, doesn’t that say that my driving was impaired enough that I shouldn’t be driving anyway? This is foolishness. People want to say that one drink isn’t going to change their behavior, but it does. Just one drink.

As a believer I have the other issue, the stumbling brother. If you are a Christian you know where I am on this. If you are not, then ask and I will explain it. In my case it isn’t just the stumbling brother, it is the four children that God has entrusted to my care. If I have spent my entire life abstaining (and for just reasons in my heart) and decided that just a glass of wine was okay, what does that say to my kids?

You may choose to consume alcohol, and most of you reading this will. As for me, I will stay away from that line.