BINGE DRINKING
is a topic not often, if ever, included in polite conversation among followers of Jesus. But for someone you know in your church or small group, there’s a good chance it is the “elephant” in the room. The closest we get to owning the issue is often a considerable discussion as to whether or not Jesus’ first recorded miracle, performed at a wedding in Cana, turned water into wine or grape juice. It is an interpretative conundrum. Whatever it was, the master of the feast believed it to be the best drink he had tasted that day. And we would expect nothing less from Jesus.
There is, however, a greater problem facing us than trying to fit what was served at the wedding in Cana into our modern day interpretive DNA. One we must talk about in Christian circles. Binge drinking. It’s not only an issue with teenagers and younger children. It is a considerable temptation among those of us in life’s second half or final third.
IT IS RISKIER WITH AGE
when we jeopardize one’s health and increase injury
probabilities by binge drinking. Dr. Benjamin Han, lead author of a research study
done at NYU, says, “Binge drinking, even episodically or infrequently, may
negatively affect other health conditions by exacerbating disease, interacting
with prescribed medications and complicating disease management. Alcohol is
also a risk factor for injury, but the consequences and recovery from a fall
are much more serious for an 81-year-old than a 21-year-old.” The
data is taken from 10,927 US adults age 65 and older, who reported their
drinking habits in the previous 30 days, while participating in the National
Survey on Drug Use and Health between 2015 and 2017. The study did not include adults living in
long-term care facilities or nursing homes. Binge drinking was defined as
consuming five or more drinks in a sitting for men, and four or more drinks in
a sitting for women. According to survey results, 1 in
10 older adults are considered binge drinkers.[2] IT’S THE ‘ELEPHANT’ IN THE ROOM says Dr. George Koob, director of the National Institute on
Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, pointing out that the new study crystallizes a
very real problem, especially the pharmacological aspect. “You can actually
kill yourself much more easily with alcohol combined with one of these pills.
This is the ‘elephant in the room’ piece about alcohol that society doesn’t
understand. Alcohol is a drug and when it’s taken in excess, it can have some
pretty harmful effects.”[3] The
prevalence of binge drinking among older adults is comparatively low when
viewed with other age groups, Han said. More than 38% of college-aged adults,
18 to 25, had recently drunk excessively, the highest prevalence of any age
group. Adults ages 26 to 34 had only slightly fewer binge drinkers. Still, 1
in 10 US adults 65 and older self-identify as binge drinkers! This
is not a judgment call, though maybe it’s uncomfortable for us to talk about.
We can push it off by declaring this is to be a problem “out there,” not “in
here” where we worship, work and live. No, it’s not a judgment call. It is a
warning to all of us that a serious problem exists—out there and in here! But what can I do about it? I’m only
one person. Ask
yourself, how would Jesus handle this “elephant” in the room? Then
do that. [1] A study by researchers at NYU School of Medicine and
the Center
for Drug Use and HIV/HCV Research (CDUHR) at NYU College of Global
Public Health and first published in the
Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, 31 July 2019. [2] For more information—https://www.nyu.edu/about/news-publications/news/2019/july/one-in-10-older-adults-currently-binge-drinks.html [3] Emily S. Rueb for The New York Times, August 2, 2019
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