"Woe to him who gives drink to his neighbor, pressing him to your bottle, even to make him drunk…!" (Habakkuk 2:15, NKJV)
The bottle pusher often has good intentions. They think alcohol will cheer the depressed and calm the anxious. Peer pressure wants the person to join the group and fit in. Yet, there are unintended side effects.
The drunkard hits someone with their fists or with their car. Perhaps a life long habit of abuse is started. The pusher now shares in the culpability of the actions of the drinker. The druggist shares in the accountability for both the sufferings and the sins of the drugged.
With force comes responsibility. Whoever is in control is accountable. The more one controls, the more one is responsible. Good intentions do not matter.
The bottom line here is that every person is individually responsible for the health of their body, mind, and soul. God does not approve of yielding it to someone else by coercion nor deceit. Even a doctor making an honest mistake can be guilty of malpractice.
"Know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's" (1 Corinthians 6:19-20).
I am bought by the blood of Christ. Therefore, I owe Him everything. I can permit no one else to come between me and God.
The Rechabites
This is the point of Jeremiah 35. It tells the story of the Rechabites. Jeremiah brought them into the temple and tempted them to drink wine, but they refused. God then blessed them for being faithful to the command of their ancestor. Why were they commanded? We are not told.
The entire point of the story is faithfulness to individual conscience and neither the prophet nor us is owed an explanation for that conscientious choice.
Daniel
Another example is Daniel in Babylon. "But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king's meat, nor with the wine which he drank: therefore he requested of the prince of the eunuchs that he might not defile himself" (Daniel 1:8).
Here we are told the reason for Daniel's decision: he would not defile himself. Whether this is religious and/or physical defilement does not matter. Daniel maintained ownership of his body temple and God blessed him.
This concept is basic to our Adventist health message. When it is combined with our emphasis on individual choice and responsibility, that makes us stewards of our health. Multiple Scriptures are based on this truth.
"The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly." (John 10:10) "But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway." (1 Corinthians 9:27) "Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth." (3 John 1:2)
So the conclusion we come to is that the Christian is not permitted to risk their health by unhealthy practices, nor are we allowed to give away our responsibility to others. This is stated in the 22nd of our fundamental beliefs.
"Since alcoholic beverages, tobacco, and the irresponsible use of drugs and narcotics are harmful to our bodies, we are to abstain from them as well."
Our doctrine does not say, "Do not use drugs." It says to abstain from the irresponsible use of drugs. Responsibility requires information, choice, and good judgment. For me to take a pill without thinking is as bad as someone else forcing a pill on me.
When I was kid, a friend offered me a white pill in the school bathroom. He promised I would feel great and a rush of energy. I wanted to fit in, but something (or Someone) told me to be careful. I refused even though I really wanted to. I was an atheist at the time, but nonetheless, the Spirit protected me by causing me to think about my risks, benefits, and responsibilities.
So again we conclude that we are individually accountable for health of body and mind. I must keep my body as healthy as possible to keep my mind as clear as possible.
By extension, parents are responsible for their children. Not even the force of law or mandate can relieve them of their duty. Their decision must be based solely on the weight of evidence, un-coerced judgment, and reasoning with clear data.
By now I think you see where this is leading. Vaccine mandates can easily overstep their good intentions. It is one thing to require drugs that have been proven over many years. (Even those come with exemptions. )
It is another thing to threaten loss of work over a jab that is still new, clearly has astronomical side effects, and is being pushed as the only solution while alternative treatments are not even discussed and often not permitted. It is also obvious that the new Covid vaccines have some efficacy, although it diminishes over time and long term side effects are unknown.
Is there good reason for a clear headed person to take the jab? Yes.
Is there good reason for a clear headed person not to take the jab? Yes.
If I give up my body, I risk giving up my mind. If I give up my mind, I give up my ability to discern God's Spirit and offer myself as a living sacrifice to Him.
Conclusion
Will we be Christlike enough to respect, and even defend, the decisions of those we disagree with? Will we as a church not bully and smear those who choose differently than us? Will we as church leaders protect our employees from loss of work? Will we defend the right for our individual members to exercise their responsibility to maintain their health as best as they see fit? Will we educate people, rather than exercise authority which we do not have?
All this emphasis on individuality may seem to oppose public health concerns and the role of government, but it does not. Leviticus 13—15 teaches us the principles of checking for symptoms and isolation of the sick. When we lock down everybody, we put the sick and healthy together. Because the vaccinated can still acquire and transmit the Covid virus, often without symptoms or knowledge, a passport is silly. We are all in a man-made predicament without man-made solution. May God have mercy on us all.
"A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another." (John 13:34-35)
"As I have loved you." Jesus died to restore and protect our power of choice, because it is the only way to exercise individual responsibility for physical and spiritual health. If I die because you force drugs on me or infect me with Covid because of your freedom, I will still love you unconditionally and without force to the end. I will not push the bottle on you.
It is my duty to defend your right to exercise your duty to maintain your health.
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Ed Lyons is a former academy teacher and now a self-supporting evangelist. Ed and his wife, Rhonda have two grown daughters.
Ed enjoys backpacking, backcountry skiing, and birdwatching. He lives in Klamath Falls, Oregon, and assists the pastor in their three-church district.
