How much of an influence do we really have on other people? Sometimes, we feel like we don’t have a lot of impact at all. But research seems to suggest something entirely different. Read this article and think about your own attitude toward drinking. And then come back to the blog and give me your thoughts. I’d be interested to hear about how you decide whether or not to drink.
It might be hard to believe, but I was painfully shy when I was younger…I still am a little bit. To overcome this shyness and the ineptness in social situations I used alcohol…a lot. According o the article, 2 drinks a day is considered heavy drinking…I did that in 15 minutes. Mostly to disastrous effects. I had many brushes with death during this period in my life. I am certain those who drink in excess can attest to the same thing.
After I was married and had children, I had to make a decision. I KNEW that drinking would affect my children. It affected my relationship with my wife, my parents, my brother and my so-called friends. I had no doubt that it would continue to negatively impact everyone who I came in contact. Then, once I became a Christian, I knew I could not continue. I could not drink moderately. When ever I started, I just kept going and going and going, pretty much till I was too sick to continue. So moderation was not for me. I had to quit completely.
Now that I am older and have gone through the struggles and trials which every drinker will go through, I can look back and say it was all worth it. Am I sorry I drank at all? In a way. but on the other hand, I can see how God used this time in my life to shape me; to give me experiences I would never had had. Mark Twain once said something like, “A man who carries a cat by the tail, learns a lesson which he can not learn in any other way.” And so it is sometimes with the lessons in our own life. I do not condemn anyone who drinks. I however, like to think of Romans 8:1-17. We are no longer to be controlled by our sinful nature, but we have an obligation to live according to the Spirit of God. If we can teach other people to do that just by modeling it, that could save a lot of pain. However, sometimes a person can learn only by one way. How do you learn? How do your children learn?
I am not surprised by the finding in the study. However the influence of someone 3 times removed was puzzling. Overall I agree and have seen similar in real life. Thanks for posting it.