Question:
As a member of the United States Army I live out the call to be “in the world but not of the world” everyday. Now here is my question. As a Christian is it better to be a designated driver for my unsaved army buddies who want to go to the bar (they will go regardless as to whether I go or not) in order to keep drunk drivers off the road, or refuse to go and therefore allow another drunk driver on the road to kill themselves or someone else before they have a chance to come to Christ?
Answer:
God bless you and our troops that are willingly laying your lives on the line for our freedom. We appreciate you all and pray for you.
In regard to your question, Proverbs 23:20 says, “Be not among winebibbers; among riotous eaters of flesh.” A “winebibber” is someone who is “imbibing” or “drinking” alcohol. There are several reasons that God does not want us among them when they are drinking. Proverbs 23:29-35 says, “Who hath woe? who hath sorrow? who hath contentions? who hath babbling? who hath wounds without cause? who hath redness of eyes? They that tarry long at the wine; they that go to seek mixed wine. Look not thou upon the wine when it is red, when it giveth his colour in the cup, when it moveth itself aright. At the last it biteth like a serpent, and stingeth like an adder. Thine eyes shall behold strange women, and thine heart shall utter perverse things. Yea, thou shalt be as he that lieth down in the midst of the sea, or as he that lieth upon the top of a mast. They have stricken me, shalt thou say, and I was not sick; they have beaten me, and I felt it not: when shall I awake? I will seek it yet again.” Notice first the “woe,” “sorrow,” “contentions,” and “babbling” that goes along with liquor. If you go with them, you may share in their woes and sorrows, because of their contentions and babbling under the influence. In other words, when men drink, they often get into fights because of what they say with their mouths. If you are with them, are you going to be willing to sit back and let your friends be beat up by other service men, or by men of other countries, or by civilians? That puts you in a bad position, where it could tempt you to get involved in the fight. Even if you are the only sober one, you could still easily be arrested for taking part in the fight. Proverbs 26:17 says, “He that passeth by, and meddleth with strife belonging not to him, is like one that taketh a dog by the ears.” In other words, it does not matter who started it, if you step in and get involved, you may be the one that gets your nose hurt.
So moving back up to the above passage, liquor often gives “wounds without cause;” that is, wounds that could have been avoided, had a person stayed away from liquor. Then it mentions “redness of eyes.” People that drink, often stay out very late. If you go with them, then that means you will have to keep the same hours. 1 Thessalonians 5:5-8 says, “Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness. Therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober. For they that sleep sleep in the night; and they that be drunken are drunken in the night. But let us, who are of the day, be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love; and for an helmet, the hope of salvation.”
Another danger is listed above, “Look not thou upon the wine when it is red, when it giveth his colour in the cup, when it moveth itself aright.” If you go with them when they are doing their drinking, you could be tempted to drink. So the Bible says not even to look upon fermented drinks, lest you be tempted to drink them yourself. Even if you have never had a drink in your life, you still must be humble and cautious about it. 1 Corinthians 10:12 says, “Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall.”
Another danger is, “Thine eyes shall behold strange women, and thine heart shall utter perverse things.” What kind of women hang out at the bar? Often, women that are looking for some immorality. Because of that, they often dress immodestly. Whether you are drunk, or sober, you can be tempted to sin with such a woman. Matthew 5:28 says, “But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart.”
Often times, people must be brought to the bottom, before they can see what liquor does to their lives. “Yea, thou shalt be as he that lieth down in the midst of the sea, or as he that lieth upon the top of a mast. They have stricken me, shalt thou say, and I was not sick; they have beaten me, and I felt it not: when shall I awake? I will seek it yet again.” They get sick from drinking, but they go right back at it. That is because when we sin, we become the servants of that sin, not the masters. John 8:34 says, “Jesus answered them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin.” Your fellow soldiers must be brought to the point where they see that liquor is hurting their lives, not helping them. If you help them go safely to and from their sinning, then it is helping them to continue without facing the consequences of their sin. That is not to say that I would let a person, whom I knew was drunk, get into a car and drive and endanger other lives. I would probably report him to the authorities. Your unsaved fellow soldiers, first and foremost, need to see their need of repentance (they need to turn from their sins to the Lord Jesus Christ, and be cleansed by Him). Luke 13:3 says, “I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.” John 1:12 says, “But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name.”
Thanks so much for writing, and may God richly bless you for serving Him, and our country.