Wine and Wellness

“No longer drink only water, but use a little wine for the sake of your stomach and your frequent ailments” (1Tim 5:23).

Caution! The following may cause confusion, and in some cases, anger and irritability. Then again, a proper reading of Scripture will often do that. In Paul’s first letter to Timothy, he brings up the subject of alcohol. Since this is the Bible, the apostle MUST be telling Pastor Tim to be a teetotaler, right? Wrong! In a verse that freaks out a good many fundamentalists, Paul tells Tim to make wine a regular part of his routine. What sort of madness is this?!? The next thing you know, somebody’s going to say the Bible encourages us to dance! (If that’s you, I’ve got some bad news for you.)

Here in a personal note to his pastoral protege, Paul writes, “No longer drink only water, but use a little wine for the sake of your stomach and your frequent ailments” (v23). This is no call for holy happy hour. Tim had some very particular health issues. The apostle wanted him to be proactive in his wellness. The illness is chronic. Stomach problems and a general sickliness. The treatment is simple. Wine. The dosage is important. Just a sip or two. 

Don’t forget the context of the verse. Paul is sending Tim a note of instruction as one pastor to another. The apostle has placed him as the servant/leader of the Ephesian church, a large, multicultural congregation on the west coast of what we know today as Turkey. Paul personally planted this church during his third Mediterranean tour (Acts 19) and actually stayed there for three years (Acts 20:30). 

At some point after he left town, false teachers weaseled their way into the flock and distracted folks from following Jesus with all sorts of bizarro myths, genealogical rabbit trails, and some doctrine that was downright demonic (1Tim 1:3-7; 4:1-3). With Paul on the road to Macedonia, the apostle leaves Timothy in charge to continue the process of getting the church back on track. Much of the letter has to do with practical steps of pastoral leadership like encouraging prayer in the church (1Tim 2:1-8), finding new leaders of integrity (1Tim 3:1-13; 5:17-22), and establishing a system of assisted living Gospel style (1Tim 5:3-16).

A lot of this note is also instruction for a pastor who’s up to his eyeballs in the mess of ministry. It’s baptism under fire and on the job training. But Paul doesn’t leave Tim hanging and has important points for how to teach the Bible, stay focused on the Gospel, utilize his spiritual gifts, and deepen his walk with Jesus (1Tim 4:16-16). The apostle doesn’t ignore the physical side of the young pastor’s life. “No longer drink only water, but use a little wine for the sake of your stomach and your frequent ailments” (v23). If you don’t take care of yourself physically, you can’t take care of the church spiritually.

Shall we get the alcohol discussion out of the way now? There are many denominations and faith traditions that maintain a zero tolerance policy on drinking alcohol. While I appreciate the idea, I have a really hard time using Scripture to back that up. All throughout the Bible, wine flows freely and God doesn’t exactly stop pouring when we hit the New Testament. As a matter of fact, Jesus’ very first miracle is to keep the party rolling at a wedding reception by making more wine (Jn 2:1-11). Christ regularly taught using wine as part of His illustrations (Lk 5:37-39; Mk 2:22). He was such a regular guest at parties that He earned a rather dubious reputation (Mt 11:19). And you can’t ignore Jesus’ use of Merlot at the Last Supper (Mt 26:26-29; Mk 14:22-25; Lk 14:23; 1Cor 11:23-32). Jesus made it. Jesus drank it. And He goes so far as to say He won’t drink again until we’re all with Him in eternity (Mk 14:25). 

Don’t buy the lie that the wine in the Bible is little more than grape juice. If that’s the case, why are so many people getting wasted on Welch’s? There’s the time after the flood where Noah gets so drunk that he passes out naked (Gen 9:20-23), or is that “nekkid”? I wonder why they never taught us that part of Noah’s story in Sunday School? Over and over, Solomon warns his son against overconsumption. Be VERY careful when it comes to wine and beer (Prov 20:1; 23:21). Don’t hang out with folks who are always getting hammered (Prov 23:19-20). The king goes so far as describing what it’s like not just to be drunk but hung over (Prov 23:29-33).

Paul cautions the Romans not to spend the night on the town barhopping (Rom 13:13). Unrepentant alcoholics and addicts don’t have a spot in God’s kingdom (1Cor 6:9-10; Gal 5:19-21). Don’t miss the fact there were plenty of folks in recovery who were part of the Corinthian church (1Cor 6:11)! People with addiction issues have no place in church leadership (1Tim 3:2-3, 8; Titus 1:7). And if you’re going to get drunk on anything, make sure it’s the Holy Spirit (Eph 5:18)! If it’s a problem for you, avoid it. If you’re able to enjoy a glass, don’t get over-served. The bottom line is we also can’t ignore the dangers of alcohol and addiction.

But Paul’s point has less to do with whether or not a believer should drink wine but taking care of yourself physically. Remember, Tim and Paul are old friends. They met on the apostle’s second tour (Acts 16:1-3). The man from Tarsus is familiar with his traveling companion’s health issues. He has tender stomach as well as other problems that can’t be ignored. One way to head off any further problems is a regular does of wine. 

Paul was just following the guidelines for wellness back in the Greco-Roman world. Hippocrates said, “Wine is an appropriate article for mankind, both for the healthy body and for the ailing man.” And not much has changed a couple of thousand years later. According to Webmd, wine is good for digestive health. Believe it or not, scientists have just released a study saying that the resveratrol in a glass of red wine has the health benefits of one hour at the gym. Just a word of warning. Drinking the whole bottle of Cab by yourself is NOT the same as busting a P90X workout.

The bigger issue here is physical wellness. If your doctor has prescribed you medications, take them. If you need supplements or OTC meds, use them. Get regular exercise. Take care of your body. Paul tells his friends in Rome, “Present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual act of worship” (Rom 12:1). He uses a word that describes our PHYSICAL form. Remember, we are fully integrated beings, created in both soul AND body. Since my physical body is the temple of the God’s Spirit (1Cor 6:19), I need to keep the joint in tiptop condition! If you don’t take care of yourself physically, you can’t take care of others spiritually.