This might be a Mormon blog post; don't say I didn't warn you.
I went to a bar/restaurant with members of this performing ensemble in which I'll be singing in the summer. While I was trying not to be unfashionably early, I called home to kill some time and ended up talking to my dad for a few moments. My dad has this strange idea that anytime I go somewhere where people will be drinking, I'll succumb to the tantalizing temptation to drink and become an alcoholic. Every time this happens, I have to tell him, first of all, my formative years are pretty much over, and if I were going to start experimenting with alcohol (or any other vice, for that matter) I would have done it already, and secondly, I don't drink. Period.
I don't drink; I have no desire to drink; and I've never ever been tempted to try alcohol. There was one moment in a bar when my friend had a drink and I thought, "hmm, that smells nice", but it was definitely the combination of fruit juices and not the alcohol that was responsible for the smell. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints teaches something called the Word of Wisdom, which is a set of commandments from God that dictate how to lead healthy lives. We abstain from alcohol, tobacco, tea and coffee, and other harmful substances (illegal drugs, etc.). When I'm at a bar or restaurant where my non-LDS friends are drinking*, and they ask why I'm not drinking, I usually respond with "I'm a Mormon," and that's usually the end of the conversation.
Sometimes I wonder, however, is the real reason I don't drink because I am a Latter Day Saint? One of my acquaintances from my congregation wrote a blog post about "justifying our beliefs," for instance, saying we keep the Word of Wisdom for health reasons instead of saying that we're keeping a commandment. I believe that the Word of Wisdom is a commandment from God, but knowing what I know about alcoholism and the other various dangers of alcohol, I'm not sure I would drink alcohol if I weren't a Latter Day Saint. The same concept applies to other aspects of the Word of Wisdom, as well as the Law of Chastity.
I guess basically what this post is trying (in a rather clumsy manner) to say is that we can make choices about our behavior independently of our religious beliefs. Obviously, if we have a testimony of the commandments that we're given, we should strive to keep them, but it is also perfectly acceptable to have personal philosophies about what those commandments mean to us. Is that what I'm trying to say? I think so. Thoughts?
*I wanted to throw this extra thought in here, but it didn't really fit with the rest of the post (I really love footnotes for this reason). I just wanted to reference a good post by another acquaintance of mine that kind of explains the whole "Mormon bar scene" dynamic.
I love going to bars with my friends, though I mostly like it because it gives people an excuse to sit and chat for hours when they would never do that in any other setting for some reason.
ReplyDeleteWith regards to your question, I think it is just fine to have personal reasons on top of the religious ones. The only problem is that if the personal ones become more important than the religious ones, you may find out that your personal reasons are invalid (e.g. Science finds strong evidence that alcohol/coffee/telling lies is actually good for your health or you determine that the worldly reason for following the commandment doesn't apply to you), which might pull out your foundation for believing what you do.
Generally though, I don't see much harm in looking for additional personal reasons to keep commandments, just not a whole lot of benefit either.
I agree with your second paragraph (not that I disagree with the surrounding two), and I might have articulated this point better had this not been a post-bedtime blog post.
ReplyDeleteWhile I can't give only one definite reason as to why I don't drink now, I can say that the Word of Wisdom is why I'll never start drinking if I all of a sudden decide that I want to, or that the whole "negative effects of alcohol" thing is no longer an issue. Does that make sense?