Listen:  114.6

This is a difficult question to give a definitive answer.  It is proper that we work as we read in 2 Thessalonians 3:10, “For even when we were with you, this we commanded you, that if any would not work, neither should he eat.”  Would it be improper to work in an environment where we would be required to sell alcohol?  I say this is a difficult question, because most convenience stores, grocery stores, and restaurants sell alcohol.  Would it be improper for a Christian to work in any of these places that sell alcohol along with many other items?

Scripture does not expressly forbid the consumption of alcohol, such as wine.  Timothy was encouraged to drink wine for his health, as we read in 1 Timothy 5:23, “Drink no longer water, but use a little wine for thy stomach’s sake and thine often infirmities.”  We are explicitly told that we should not drink alcohol to the point of being intoxicated in Ephesians 5:18, “And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit.”

There are two things we should consider in view of this question: our testimony and our conscience.  Will working as a check-out person in a local Walmart, where alcohol is sold, harm your testimony?  I think not.  Will working as a bartender, or a check-out person in a liquor store harm your testimony?  I think it probably would.

Does it bother your conscience to sell alcohol under any circumstance?  If so, I strongly suggest you do not work in any environment where you might have to compromise your conscience.  Romans 14:22 tells us, “…Happy is he that condemneth not himself in that thing which he alloweth.”  If we do things that our conscience condemns us for doing, we cannot be happy.  We will be miserable.

Romans 14:23 goes on to tell us, “…whatsoever is not of faith is sin.”  Be sure you pray about this and be sure of your convictions before you make a decision about selling alcohol.  (114.6)