Mike Skinner, mastermind behind the British hiphop giant, “The Streets” groups Christianity and Alcohol together as the two greatest European narcotics. Faith can just as easily be a drug of escape as can alchohol. Sometimes I wonder if this is why conversion stories of alcoholics and drug addicts to Christianity often don’t move me. Skeptic that I am, I often assume that faith is simply their new means of escape.
At a downtown bar I noticed something about community. Simply put, friends are better friends with a little alcohol. With a lot of alcohol, aquaintances are soulmates. I watched relationships progress over the course of the night, and with each drink the sentiments of encouragement and friendship grew exponentially. How sad, I thought. These bonds are much weaker the morning after.
But if Christianity can be a narcotic too, I began wondering what that means for Christian community. Christians are infamous for their exclusive solidarity with other Christians, and that is obviously a perversion of community. Certainly having such commonality would naturally strengthen relationships, but many Christians extend that to a total rejection of people who do not share that faith. Also, the similarity between the false community of drinking dancers and that of Sunday Christian gossipers is striking. Surface level. And Christians act differently the Monday after.
I want real community. I want my friends to see right through me. I want them to know that I love them without the help of any narcotic. I want my faith to strengthen my relationships, not sedate them. That is what is beautiful about alcoholics anonymous. That is a community of people who no longer have anything to hide. Because they know that hiding is a deadly game. Healing cannot happen while we hide.
