The logic of 'Harm Minimisation'
Australian parents often introduce their children to small amounts of alcohol early to help them learn to control their behaviour in later life. "Harm minimisation" is the nice sounding term for this whole procedure.
Although this term sounds very new to me, the procedure certainly has been familiar to me since my teenage years of growing up. Friends used to occasionally boast in front of me during the years where we were still a minor (being under the age of 18 in Australia) for being able to have that sip of alcohol from their parents. The parents say they feel they have the responsibility to train their children up so the evil world out there would not have a chance to use their children's inability to drink alcohol against them. However, according to the Australian, 'parents who allow their children small amounts of alcohol in an attempt to instil safe drinking habits may be setting them on the path to becoming binge drinkers' (read all about it here).
We often have to have alcohol to get the socialising going whether it be in the pub, bar, disco, you name it! Yet we know if we have too much, it damages our body. Whether it be a temporary damage where we lose control of ourselves or the long term damage to our liver to get rid of the excess alcohol, we know its bad for our bodies. But alcohol is a rather strange consumable where when we clearly know its bad, parents out there still believe they should get their children to load it into their bodies!
You don't think it is strange? Well I have not heard of parents training their kids with illicit drugs so they have safe habits of not damaging themselves when they go out partying. But Ivan, how can you talk about illegal drug use? Fine, what about smoking then, have we heard parents getting children to smoke so they could get used to all the passive smoke around us today? I probably cannot guarantee there is absolutely no parent who would do such a thing, but I could bravely say responsible and reasonable parents would definitely not!
So why the exception? Why do we make alcohol the exception when we clearly know it is bad for us? We shouldn't! If we would like to have a good healthy life, it is obvious that we should keep it out of our lives so it will not affect us! It's obvious that the harm removal approach is much better than harm minimisation, by far!
The many so-called "rules" within the bible that many people misunderstand them to be is like God, our creator, telling us that if we would like to live a Holy life, that is, living the way He intended things to be, we should follow Him and remove ourselves from certain bad habits that we may have. Rather than being the "binge drinker" in life, indulging ourselves in our bad habits and slowly killing ourselves in the long run, we should free ourselves so we may live a more purposeful and meaningful life before God.
Which type of person are you: a harm removalist or a harm minimalist?
Although this term sounds very new to me, the procedure certainly has been familiar to me since my teenage years of growing up. Friends used to occasionally boast in front of me during the years where we were still a minor (being under the age of 18 in Australia) for being able to have that sip of alcohol from their parents. The parents say they feel they have the responsibility to train their children up so the evil world out there would not have a chance to use their children's inability to drink alcohol against them. However, according to the Australian, 'parents who allow their children small amounts of alcohol in an attempt to instil safe drinking habits may be setting them on the path to becoming binge drinkers' (read all about it here).
We often have to have alcohol to get the socialising going whether it be in the pub, bar, disco, you name it! Yet we know if we have too much, it damages our body. Whether it be a temporary damage where we lose control of ourselves or the long term damage to our liver to get rid of the excess alcohol, we know its bad for our bodies. But alcohol is a rather strange consumable where when we clearly know its bad, parents out there still believe they should get their children to load it into their bodies!
You don't think it is strange? Well I have not heard of parents training their kids with illicit drugs so they have safe habits of not damaging themselves when they go out partying. But Ivan, how can you talk about illegal drug use? Fine, what about smoking then, have we heard parents getting children to smoke so they could get used to all the passive smoke around us today? I probably cannot guarantee there is absolutely no parent who would do such a thing, but I could bravely say responsible and reasonable parents would definitely not!
So why the exception? Why do we make alcohol the exception when we clearly know it is bad for us? We shouldn't! If we would like to have a good healthy life, it is obvious that we should keep it out of our lives so it will not affect us! It's obvious that the harm removal approach is much better than harm minimisation, by far!
The many so-called "rules" within the bible that many people misunderstand them to be is like God, our creator, telling us that if we would like to live a Holy life, that is, living the way He intended things to be, we should follow Him and remove ourselves from certain bad habits that we may have. Rather than being the "binge drinker" in life, indulging ourselves in our bad habits and slowly killing ourselves in the long run, we should free ourselves so we may live a more purposeful and meaningful life before God.
Which type of person are you: a harm removalist or a harm minimalist?
Matthew 5:29-30 (English Standard Version)
29If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body be thrown into hell. 30And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body go into hell.
Ephesians 5:18
Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit.
Jesus said in a clear way that drinking wine is acceptable, but don't drink until you get drunk as it is shown by Noah that getting drunk leads either you sinning or someone else sinning.
1 Corinthians 6:12
"Everything is permissible for me"—but not everything is beneficial. "Everything is permissible for me"—but I will not be mastered by anything.
1 Corinthians 8:9
Be careful, however, that the exercise of your freedom does not become a stumbling block to the weak.
A lot of people would question whether it is biblically to do this and do that. Things like going to night clubs, smoking, gambling. There is no specific passage would say do not do these things and there is no need to because Paul has mentioned as above. You are free to do anything but need to willing to take the cost. Being a Christian means you are willing to take the opportunity to be who you are meant to be, to do what you really want to do, to do what you are made to do.
Posted by
Anonymous |
6:29 pm, January 10, 2007
Christianity is not about a list of "to-do" things and a list of "not-to-do" things. It is about what your heart is with Christ.
Like what you have said, there is no specific passage that may spell out you are not to go to night clubs, or to smoke or to gamble, the act of doing these sort of things indirectly reflect where your heart is.
The bible teaches us under the new covenant, our bodies are the temple which God stays in. Smoking, would therefore be doing something that is damaging to God's temple. So how would you be doing Him any good?
The bible also teaches that you cannot serve money or God. Gambling, is definitely an act which is driven by a heart where it is not satisfied and never finds enough money. That is exactly why you need to gamble to win more money.
While the bible spells out the freedom that God gives us, we should know that now we are in the light, we should not abuse the freedom that we have been given to continuing doing things in the dark.
Thanks for a challenging comment!
Posted by
Ivan |
11:10 pm, January 10, 2007
I was challenged by people that would you consider junk food, soft drinks as damaging God's temple and therefore we shouldn't eat it?
Posted by
Anonymous |
12:25 am, January 11, 2007
If you only drink soft drink and eat junk food, it can kill you.
Posted by
Jot.. |
1:36 pm, February 17, 2007