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Rev. Joey N. Welsh: On temperance Another Angle. Temperance, abstinence, and the priesthood of all believers was first published 4 December 2005 in the Hart County News-Herald To see other articles by this author, enter "Rev. Joey N. Welsh," or "Another Angle," in the searchbox. The next earlier essay posted on ColumbiaMagazine.com is A birthday appreciation of an old friend: The Roebling Bridge at Covington By The Rev. Joey N. Welsh I grew up in a family that practiced temperance with regard to alcoholic beverages. The very word temperance is primarily defined as moderation, self-restraint, or the avoiding of excess. Because of my father's job as a manufacturing company executive, my parents had several large parties a year for Dad's co-workers. On those occasions there was a table full of food in the dining room and a well-supplied variety of beverages in the den, including beer and liquor. On such an evening forty or fifty people would descend on our home, and they all would have a grand time. I grew up helping to prepare the food and keep the chafing dishes and food trays restocked on party nights, and I had a lot of fun hanging around the party. Most of our guests thought of me as a sort of mascot, and they were always polite and deferential to me. Though I was around the party-goers all evening, I never remember seeing anyone who became drunk, rude, or inconsiderate. I suppose that is because our guests also came from families where temperance and good manners were important. From an early age I knew that there was a difference between temperance and abstinence, and I thought that temperance was quite sensible. Apart from those social functions, alcoholic beverages were put away and never in view in the house as I grew up. As the years passed, I knew that alcohol held no allure or mystery for me. I wasn't afraid of it just as I wasn't hostile to it; I simply never had much interest in it. Alcohol is not now a part of my life, but I still think of myself as someone who believes in temperance without requiring abstinence of those around me. When I was in my college years I discovered that my grandmother's doctor had suggested to her that on those occasional evenings when she had trouble getting to sleep, a glass of wine might do the trick and alleviate the necessity of her taking a sedative. I was delighted to discover this fact, because it made my annual Christmas shopping for her much easier. Each year I would buy Grandmother a large bottle of her favorite Rhine wine; she would keep it refrigerated and have a glass now and then when she had trouble sleeping. That one bottle of wine would often last her all year long. Grandmother must have believed in temperance, as well. Grandmother, Mother, and Daddy never demanded abstinence from alcoholic beverages of their friends and family, even me, but they did raise me in the Christian faith. And part of their teaching was the traditional Protestant doctrine of the priesthood of all believers. That doctrine reminds us that all Christians not only have our relationship with God to care for, but also that we owe support and respect to the others around us who, like us, are representatives of our Savior in this world. This mutual esteem demands that we value other people and their opinions, never treating them hatefully, never regarding them as less than children of God. They may look different from us, worship differently from us, vote differently from us, and make different choices in life, but they remain worthy children of God. If we act as if we, and we alone, are the judge of others and their lives, and if we act as if it is our right to limit their spheres and micro-manage their existences, then we are putting ourselves into God's rightful place and insulting those folks and God as well. People who act in such a way may think they are being holy, but they don't have my vote. The November 2005 moist/dry election in Cave City has brought the concepts of temperance, abstinence, and the priesthood of all believers into the front and center of my thoughts. It has also reminded me of my appreciation for participatory democracy. Candidates and issues are put to a vote; some win, while others lose. And if citizens are mature adults, the election becomes history and people walk together into the future. I hope this will happen now in Cave City, otherwise people will waste their emotional energy on petty bitterness instead of investing it in community progress. As I said, beverage alcohol is not a part of my life and I have no interest in liquor by the drink, but I have even less interest in and appreciation for public displays of incivility and self-righteous hatefulness. I don't plan to run to Cave City to sip a cocktail, but as to those citizens who want to just that, I'd rather have them spend their money there at an establishment that maintains a local business license and pays local taxes than at a restaurant somewhere on Scottsville Road. Eventually, I presume, the election season shouting will cease and the last hurrah will fade away. And perhaps someday soon I will be able to visit a Cave City restaurant where some diners will be there observing their belief in abstinence while others will feel free to eat and sip their alcohol as they practice their temperance. And we will all co-exist in mutual appreciation and respect as we observe together our reliance in the doctrine of the priesthood of all believers. E-mail: joey_n_welsh@hotmail.com This story was posted on 2010-03-21 02:51:47
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Success is the ultimate result of the strivings for excellence Billy Joe Fudge: Poetry is meant to be read aloud Rev. Joey N. Welsh: A birthday appreciation of an old friend Sadly, KY loses to TN on verbal efficiency, re: regions Diner News from Jamestown - Politicians And Fishermen . . . Diner News: Election Talk Creeping Into Conversations . . . Rev. Joey N. Welsh: Forty can be a very good number Adair Countians urged to observe Earth Hour on March 27, 2010 Economic Gardening can work in Columbia-Adair Co., KY Rev. Joey N. Welsh: On the Poetry of Emily Dickinson View even more articles in topic Commentary |
 
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