By Z K PahriiPou | BTC, Pfutsero
Election Weds Alcohol in Christian State!!! What a sad news indeed.Can we, as Christians, give freedom to anyone to drink alcohol? Should we not take action? But how far can the church interfere in determining one’s food habits? Is it not the choice of drinks and food an individual’s right or is it a religious issue as well? If drinking alcohol is a religious issue, why is the church taking disciplinary action only on those who drink but not on those who (suppliers who are Christians) distribute to others? The unholy marriage ceremony of ‘Alcohol and Election’ conducted by our politicians is not only disturbing the peaceful sleep of our mothers but also destroyingthe good image of Naga Christian nation. Therefore, we should not drink alcohol because of the following reasons:
1. About 2 billion people worldwide consume alcoholic drinks, which can have immediate and long term consequences on health and social life. Over 76 million people are currently affected by alcohol use disorders, such as alcohol dependence and abuse. Alcohol causes 1.8 million deaths a year. Worldwide alcohol causes a loss of 58.3 million DALYs annually (disability-adjusted life years). 34% of those who attempted suicide were abusing alcohol. It accounts for 3.2% of all deaths worldwide.
2. Use of alcohol leads to unintentional & intentional injuries and death. It accompanies aggression that leads to violence and causes traffic injuries. It causes preventable deaths such as falls and fires. Thousands of people are being killed every year by drank drivers.
3. According to experts, alcohol consumption has been linked to more than 60 diseases. These diseases include alcoholic psychoses, alcohol-dependence syndrome, alcoholic polyneuropathy (disease affecting the nerves), cirrhosis (liver disease/cancer), breast cancer, increase high blood pressure, cause depression, and so on.
4. Alcohol consumption can have adverse social and economic effects on the individual drinker, the drinker’s immediate environment and society as a whole. Many families have broken down because of drinking. Many unwanted pregnancy and rape occurs under to the influence of alcohol. It is of utmost concern that many of our leaders are heavy drinkers. They look for partying wherever they go and totally failing their responsibility as leaders. Heavy drinkers do not lead society to safety.
5. Drinking can cause home accidents and violence/breaking down of family. Drinking leads to child abuse. Even non-drinking family members develop anxiety, fear and depression. It also is a cause of divorce for many families. There is a huge financial cost of alcoholic purchase and later on for medical treatment. It leads to lose of labour and wages. It increases the risk of transmitting of HIV & AIDS. In many cases, it leads to domestic violence.
Reflection: Food and drinks are meant for life and not for destruction. It is high time for us to save ourselves and the coming generation from the destruction of intoxicants. Let us take this time to think together. For healthy living and harmonious society, let us say ‘NO’ to alcohol. Use of alcohol affect not only individual’s health but also lead to total collapse of family and its economy, breaks social cohesion, and lead to moral and spiritual bankruptcy. Therefore, let’s not drink alcohol during election and abstain from it for the rest of our life.
Why we should not drink alcohol during election is because we cannot choose the right leader under the influence of alcohol. We need to sincerely choose the right leader through prayers. We need to choose leaders who fears God. Let’s depend not on alcohol and money but on God to choose our leaders. Any candidate distributing alcohol to get vote is not a God fearing candidate. S/he cannot be a good leader and hence should not be elected to be our leader. If any unwanted incident such as rape, injury or deaths occurs, the very candidate who distribute alcohol should be held responsible and should be automatically excommunicated from the church’s membership. If we really want to stop the unholy alliance of ‘Election and Alcohol’ during election, don’t send mothers at night to check the vehicles of transporting alcohol and distributing to people. Take action on those candidates who distribute alcohol. Will the church have the courage to take disciplinary action against those candidates who are destroying our society and church?
