#belgian quad

Ironically, I believe passing judgment on others is often a sin. I've watched friends condemn individuals and entire populations for things that are central to who they are, and those condemnations lead to some of the worst atrocities on the planet. If "sin" can be defined as "setting something up as more important than God," then I know plenty of Christians (and non-Christians) who live in the sin of judging others. Of course, these situations are rarely that simple. The Bible instructs us to rebuke our brothers and sisters in Christ (church language for setting other Christians straight when we see them going down the wrong road), but I haven't met a Christian yet who fully knows the heart and mind of God. Sure, we have an instruction manual, a book that chronicles the history of rules, instructions, advice, and mistakes of Christianity from before Christ was even born. But it's a big book. And it was written a long time ago, in foreign cultures, and in a lot of different languages. Yes, every one of those words were God inspired, but the problem isn't with the words. It's with the people who read them.

"Studies show that there's no difference between wearing a mask and not wearing one." "Polls show that police brutality is at an all-time high." "There's no proof that banning guns would lower crime rates." "Michael Jordan's stats prove that he was the best basketball player of all time." I took a class in college that taught me how to interpret research articles (yes, just ONE class), and the main thing I took away from it was that bias is the bane of truth. Bias from researchers, those funding the research, and those reading the research—it happens at all levels, and it basically allows us to hear whatever we want to because there are SO MANY nuances to trying to separate objective facts from subjective belief. We try to wrangle them, try to pin them down and separate them out, but the universe is a big place, and NO ONE is capable of processing all of it clearly. No one except God, of course. And since, as I said, none of us has the Big Man's cell phone number (not that we would listen even if we did since), we're left to interpret pretty much everything with at least a little of our own bias. Where we grew up, what our genetic makeup is, what our parents believed, etc., etc. Like my mom's condemnation of alcohol because of the very real pain it caused her marriage, bias influences every thought we have.

I grew up in a Christian household in rural Missouri. So, I'm a Christian. Yes, it was a choice. Yes, I've spent decades reading, listening, contemplating, and trying to "prove" my beliefs, but if I'd grown up as a Muslim in the heart of Pakistan, I'd probably be Muslim. And I'd probably be one of those individuals who believes taking a sip of alcohol is a damnable offense. Thankfully, I didn't. Otherwise, I never would have experienced the joy of my first home brewed Belgian quad beer. I'd never have felt the complexities of its sweet maltiness as it flowed over my tongue. I'd never have enjoyed the thrill of accomplishment at not blowing up my basement as I figured out how to keg that beer. I'd never have delighted in the freedom of "knowing" what I did came from my God-given creativity—a creativity that I believe reflects the Great Creator's heart in a pure and intimate way.

As I said, nothing is ever simple. I'm not suggesting that we should live a hedonistic "everything goes" lifestyle. We DO need to make choices. We DO need to draw lines and strive to keep others from cheapening Gods grace. But we shouldn't do those things the easy way. If you believe I'm sinning by drinking alcohol, you should figure out WHY you believe that. Not because you read a single sentence out of the Bible and used it (perhaps out of context) to justify your own personal beliefs (which came from countless sources OTHER than God). In short, be intentional. Be discerning. Be patient and kind. Live by the GREATEST commandment to love God first. Love others as yourselves. And take the time to filter all of your other beliefs through that lens. Use the Bible as a guide, not a weapon. And maybe chill out and have a frosty home brew once in a while. I know where you can find some.