Why do you drink?

The Public Square
21

These are a dime a dozen now. Still, they’re useful, unless they’re those foofy thangs that piss-elegant effiminates use to flame out.

I was a pround United States Marine Corp cook, and most of my cooking days were spent in a field mess hall in Chu Lai Viet Nam. We turned out some of the best food I’ve ever eaten. The Navy provided our stores - prime quality and great variety. On the Marine Corps birthday, we served up grilled sirloin steaks and grilled lobster tails. I began each morning shift (4 A. M) cracking a gross of eggs (that’s 12 dozen) into a 30 gallon mixing bowl to begin making pancake batter.

In my 12-month tour in Nam, I had a hand in preparing three meals a day, six days a week, for 500 men. All tolled, that’s as many meals as you would eat if you ate three meals a day for over 427 years.

5 Likes
22

I’m honestly curious here, not trolling.

What was your taste reaction to your first beer?

23

It is my experience. I see enjoyment in all of those other things.

When I put something into my mouth, it is generally for one of two reasons:

  1. tastes good
  2. good for me

(Sormetimes both!)

Most alcoholic beverages taste bad, in my experience. So when I say the obvious reason to drink, I mean “the reason that my friends/acquantencies tolorated the bad taste”

Because people that I know that drink have generally told me that:

  1. It tastes bad or
  2. It’s an acquired test

So I’m asking “Why acquire it?”

I’m not sure if you are trying to understand me. Because most people would see enjoyment in a song. No one says: Music is nasty at first. But you’ll learn to tolorate it, and how else are you going to seduce a woman?

24

I think that “acquired taste” can mean a few different things, and it’s probably worth exploring.

If you don’t like alcohol at all to begin with, and yet you force yourself to like it because you are craving to acquire something on the other side of it — like image, or favor with a peer group, or the feeling of intoxication — then clearly sin is in the mix. You’re merely forcing yourself to acquire a taste for alcohol so that you might acquire drunkenness, etc. Your desire is not in enjoying God’s gifts, but rather you are seeking pleasure in idolatry.

But I think about how I “acquired” a taste for coffee. I remember when I was about 20 years old, and got what I would call my first “real” job in an office environment, I used to commonly go to the vending machines to get a 20 oz. pop. Over the course of a few months, I began to realize that spending $1.25 or $2.50 a day for pop really added up over the course of a month. So I tried to save money by bringing my own 6-packs of Pepsi from the grocery store, and keeping them at my desk. But they were always warm, of course, so that was no good. Meanwhile, I really enjoyed having something to drink besides water, and the effects of caffeine were helpful to staying focused.

Eventually, I ventured out to trying out the “work coffee” — you know, the cheap sludge that employers provide for free in the break room. At first, I found the taste of coffee mildly terrible, yet there was something in there satisfying about it. Just had to get over the bitterness. At first, I would pour tons of creamer and sugar into it. Then over time, as I found myself in a hurry to get back to my desk or something, I would sometimes just take it black, and it became pleasant to me. I learned how to sip coffee in such a way that the bitterness didn’t bother me, and came to a point where a hint of bitterness can actually be enjoyable. Over time my palate was conditioned away from the boyish notion that everything had to taste sweet; there are actually other flavors that can be enjoyed as well. Before I knew it, I loved black coffee.

And that was just the “work coffee!” Then I discovered gas station coffee, and McDonald’s coffee! Wow! Now I could enjoy bad coffee, mediocre coffee, and good coffee! The world is now my oyster. :smiley:

So yes, there was an “acquiring” of taste for coffee. It basically began as a pragmatic way to escape the boredom of water, and still get some caffeine in me, and later became a genuine taste. But I don’t think I was ever looking for something sinful in coffee to begin with.

5 Likes
25

I think the idea for some is that they want to get drunk, party, have a good time that they can’t remember. Some in the church started drinking like that during younger unregenerate years. They acqired the taste, met the Lord, realized their drinking habits were wrong and sought to change those in some way, varyingly successful.

But not all. I wasn’t in that crowd.

As long as I saw alcohol like that - basically until the end of college - I hated it, thought it was terrible stuff. I tried it a couple times, to see what it was like, never even finishing a drink. It was a taste I hated.

As I grew older I saw a lot of people drink differently. It was something they enjoyed but did not abuse. It enhanced a meal or a time of fellowship (or a bowl of Ice cream - Bailey’s I’m looking at you…). It wasn’t in excess and wasn’t effecting intoxication.

So I ended up acquiring a taste. I wouldn’t call it very advanced but it’s there. It spices my life up. I enjoy a beer while grilling out, sitting around a campfire with friends. I guess you have to have some degree of ‘faith’ that it will be rewarding in the end. My experience is that it is.

CS Lewis makes a similar point with learning ancient languages to read their poetry. The same could be said of learning to appreciate classical music. It’s easier to enjoy a pop song than Dvorak but Dvorak is more rewarding. The coffee to pop comparison above is basically the same.

For me, I drink because I enjoy it, which is why I do most of what I do (arguably everything). But it isn’t too get drunk, which I’ve never experienced.

Should you acquire a taste for alcohol? Coffee? Classical music? Chocolate (if you are my extremely weird nine-year old)? Rugby? Science fiction? Hiking in the Smoky Mountains? Sushi? Of course you should :grin:Every man should eat and drink and enjoy good in all his labor, is the gift of God.

This has been a lively discussion that I’ve enjoyed. Thanks for bringing it up. I think there is a book by Joe Rigney called the Things of Earth that addresses this. But I haven’t read it, so I’m not sure.

5 Likes
26

If by whiskey…

6 Likes
27

“If by whiskey…” is brilliant! What fun.

I think Fr. Bill might be Robert Farrar Capon in disguise.

2 Likes
28

I wonder if part of the rub could lie in your statement “potentially intoxicating”? This point has already been gestured to by a few people, but I think it’s worth (again?) explicitly stating that alcohol is “intoxicating” in almost any amount, and enjoyment of that “intoxication” is actually one of the legitimate reasons to drink, not simply a “moral hazard” to be avoided.

I note this because sometimes I find non-drinkers are very suspicious about any kind of psychological effect of drinking. The problem is that “intoxication” is an ambiguous, flat word that could include almost any affect, including a “morning buzz” from coffee. In that sense, drinking a beer and drinking 10 beers are both “intoxicating,” but are light years apart morally speaking. And to reiterate again, one of the reasons I (and many others) do like a beer after a long day is that it is physiologically/psychologically relaxing.

This is not to take away from what anyone else has said about their enculturation into drinking or taste or anything else. I just wanted to explicitly point out an issue which I think often muddies the water.

4 Likes
29

Yes, this is exactly what I was thinking while reading. It’s an acquired taste, and I don’t mind telling people it can be worth acquiring.

3 Likes
30

Yes, that’s why I think coffee and alcohol are more equivalent than we generally assume.

4 Likes
31

When I was in college we had to read Nietzsche and remember one discussion on acquiring the ear for certain music, notably Wager. He describes it as almost painful at first but eventually one develops an appreciation for it as repeated exposure numbs the initial revolt.

I will fully admit, in college I hated the taste of beer and most notably how the carbonation upset my stomach. Not intoxication. Years later I discovered not all beers taste alike and not all have the same effect on my stomach. As I began to identify the kinds of beer I did like, I found that my tastes evolved and I started to appreciate some beers that I would have found revolting initially.

To be honest I think it’s a sign of maturity to be able to explore food, drink, and maybe the arts that may at first be very unfamiliar. But then again some beer is just bad.

3 Likes
32

Classical music, coffee, broccoli and Brussels sprouts, poetry, good cheese, fine wine…

Definitely tastes worth acquiring.

We don’t all want to be stuck eating only what we liked as children, do we? Development of the palate is a sign of maturity.

(Obvious nota bene: I would not argue that therefore everyone must enjoy the same things. I don’t like bleu cheese and most likely never will; my husband hates coffee.)

4 Likes
33

Last question:

What is your favorite type of face oil?

4 Likes
34

Eric, you are funny.

Love,

1 Like
35

Sorry, I missed that this question as directed at me.

I remember my dad giving me a sip when he was grilling one time. I was probably 10 or so. My reaction was something like, “Yuck!”

3 Likes
36

LOL

I’ll bite even though it’s directied to someone else-

coconut oil is my favorite type of face oil. :smirk:

3 Likes
37

Here’s another reason: because it’s good for others.

I mean socializing, and even evangelism. It can be good to fit in.

I have some good relationships where others can enjoy drinking without always getting drunk. It’s easier to develop these friendships when I can join them. When some people, it is important–if I drink–to be able to stomach the cheap stuff too. Cheap beer does remind me of my college days, but it also connects me with other social classes. On the other side of the coin, it’s helpful to be willing to buy the fancy stuff sometimes.

I’m glad to have developed a taste for tea.
It has reduced the awkwardness of going out for coffee, a common part in the beginning of dating and other relationships. A common part in relaxing, after-dinner times with friends. Tea is less complicated, more respectable than ordering hot cocoa. My choice of drink was unnecessarily getting in the way of personal relationships. It shouldn’t have mattered what I drank, if anything, but it too often does matter in this world.

Some of the above relationships are ministerial. Some would have been more difficult or impossible if I had not drunk.

That’s not why I developed a taste for alcohol, but it is why I stopped abstaining. And it is a good reason to consider developing a taste for drinking, or anything else that helps make friends outside of church. Inside of church too, but especially outside of church. 1 Corinthians 9:19-23

Matthew 5:41 also applies, but less explicitly. If a coworker asks you to lunch, go to the restaurant he suggests, even if you don’t like it (or him), even if it breaks this week’s lunch budget, even if you’ve packed today. And enjoy it. After getting to know him better, you may suggest better options.

Not everyone needs to drink. I’ve personally found it productive, in and out of the Church.

On music, amen to another example of acquired tastes. There’s a lot of good music I don’t like, but I’ve found that such music may grow on me if I give it a few chances. I came to this realization, because I felt bad about disliking all the Christian music that others had given me, so I tried them again. I now like some but not all of them. Because of this experience, I begged certain friends and family to give GSB and MSAL and Keith Green a few rounds of play, because many didn’t enjoy it the first time through.

What finally convinced me to force myself into eating tomatoes was that I saw others enjoying them. It paid off for me personally. I have something extra to thank God for, though fresh tomatoes now add an extra cost to my hamburgers. Similarly with spicy foods. I’m so glad I’ve ratcheted up my tolerance. I expanded my palate to please myself, but it also improved social experiences ranging from church meals to business meals.

I avoid coffee for the opposite reason I took on more vegetables. I’ve seen too many people try and fail to get off it. I use caffeine but don’t trust myself with coffee. I should consider it a weakness rather than a strength. So here I fight pride instead of dependence. Hmm, putting it that way makes me think it’d be better for me to drink coffee now.

2 Likes
38

We take a “European” approach to alcohol in my house, so on the rare occasions that we have beer or wine with dinner, we give a tiny amount to our children – and apparently unlike everyone else here, they liked it from the first sip. It doesn’t matter whether it’s a light lager, oatmeal stout, dry Cabernet, etc., if they see I and my wife are drinking it, they will ask for some, too. I even tried letting them taste the harder stuff, thinking it would turn them off. Nope, they liked rum, whiskey, etc., too, right off. The only thing I’ve seen them dislike is gin. I guess we have a strange family.

Edited to add: the harder stuff is a one-time only experience for my kids to taste.

6 Likes
39

Obviously: https://www.1689beard.com/
:slight_smile:

2 Likes
40

When you want your dog’s coat to shine you don’t smear the egg directly on his coat, you mix it into his food. I like my oil in the stir fry, in the Triscuits, in the popcorn, and in the brownies. Baked potato chips are the worst, 'cuz they lack the oil I love.

Love,

4 Likes