Dry January, the alternate name given to the first month of the year because so many choose to go alcohol-free after overdoing it during the festive period, may be over but the trend of giving up alcohol or cutting down drastically for more than just one month shows no signs of slowing.
One of the main reasons that so many people are giving up alcohol is because of the impact on their health. As study after study reveals the risks related to a high consumption of alcohol and as we become a more health conscious society, increasing numbers of us are ditching the drink.
The rise of temperance bars and alcohol-free drinks reflect our changing attitudes towards alcohol and also make the transition easier for those who want to continue taking part in the social elements that are related to drinking.
But what does this mean for Christians? Can giving up alcohol make our relationship with God healthier?
Well, the Bible does not completely forbid the consumption of alcohol. In fact, there are verses which encourage or celebrate the drinking of wine (Ecclesiastes 9:7, John 2:3-11). However, what the Bible does warn us against is drunkenness (Galatians 5:19-21).
During Lent a lot of Christians make the decision to give up drinking, but Lent is more about just giving up something that we ordinarily crave. It's also about reminding ourselves of the temptation Jesus experienced, and it can give us the space we need to focus more on God, whilst not being distracted by lesser urges. A similar attitude could be adopted if we're to choose to reduce or entirely give up alcohol at other times in our life.
Whether as Christians we choose to consume alcohol or not is an individual decision, but something that we should all be aware of is how drunkenness can affect our relationship with God and others. If a heavy night out means that we're too hungover the next morning to go to Church, need to apologise to friends for our behaviour and have a sketchy memory of the previous night's events, then it's probably time to reassess how much we're drinking. And even if we can pull ourselves together after overdoing it, we still need to be mindful of the negative impact alcohol could be having on our lives, bodies and relationships.
