The Beer Wars of 2023

Balkanization over bitter beverages

Let me state right up front that I don’t drink beer. I tried it in college because it seemed to be what college kids did, but the taste repelled me right away. When I was told it’s an acquired taste, my retort was, “Why would you want to acquire a taste for something that doesn’t taste good?” Nevertheless, the average American over 21 consumes a six-pack of beer weekly. A Gallup poll reveals Americans prefer beer over liquor and wine, so many people enjoy beer as one of the pleasures of life.

Beer is also celebrated throughout history and worldwide as a beverage best consumed with others, whether at a tavern, a party, or a sporting event. Some studies even suggest the community created around patrons at a favorite watering hole is a source of well-being since the friendships formed increase overall life satisfaction; non-drinkers or occasional drinkers must settle for places of worship, bookstores, cafes, or the gym for our face-to-face communal fix!

One of our founding fathers, Samuel Adams, a renowned brewer, said, “There is nothing which has yet been contributed by man, by which so much happiness is produced as a good tavern or inn.” City planners and sustainability experts even cite local bars as a necessary “third space,” defined as “places where camaraderie and joviality occurred, where we can enjoy one’s company outside of home (the ‘first’ space) and work (the ‘second’ space).”

Especially for low-income and blue-collar patrons, a bar is a place to escape work and home pressures temporarily, and beer is readily available for a little spare change.

So how does this cheap beverage that encourages community, typically between strangers, become a source of divisiveness?

In case you haven’t followed the news, and I sincerely hope you haven’t, Anheuser-Busch, the American brewer responsible for many iconic beer brands such as Budweiser, Michelob, and Bud Light, decided to commemorate the first anniversary of transgender social media personality Dylan Mulvaney’s transition by issuing a single Bud Light can emblazoned with Mulvaney’s image. Mulvaney promoted the gesture on social media, so if you don’t frequent Instagram, Tik Tok, or the like, you are mercifully unaware of the brouhaha that ensued.

In response to Anheuser-Busch’s gesture, conservative celebrities like Kid Rock, Ted Nugent, Travis Tritt, and John Rich called for a boycott of Bud Light. Conservative politicians and news personalities joined the outrage brigade, their acolytes followed suit, and another front in the multi-front culture war was launched. Mr. Rock, who transitioned from his birth name of Robert James Ritchie, was particularly strident in his response. He recorded himself on video riddling cases of Bud Light with MP5 submachine gun fire while spouting obscenities toward Bud Light and Anheuser-Busch. His triggered response, pun fully intended, has over 52.5 million views on Twitter as of May 3rd, and I regret that I contributed to that number just by looking it up to see how many views it had received.

What I try to do is look at everything through the eyes of Christ. We have the Holy Spirit within us, and we should learn how to tap into the discernment and wisdom that comes from that indwelling. There is no situation for which Christ doesn’t offer an observation or solution, and we should be Christ-like even when assessing a situation like this one.

“Republicans buy sneakers, too.”

I’m not demonstrative, so I don’t do public boycotts. There’s nothing wrong with them; they are a legitimate expression of the public will as long as they are not violent or hurtful. Still, if I decide to boycott something, it will be between me and the person or company that wants to sell me something. In general terms, I don’t begrudge businesses the right to sell to whomever they want; after all, business is transactional, and the fiduciary responsibility of any business, from a sole proprietorship to a multinational corporation, is to maximize profit, hopefully within legal and ethical boundaries. I recognize they’re going to try and sell their product or service to people who aren’t like me, and to my way of thinking, that’s what they’re supposed to do. While some businesses are committed to specific causes and build their brands around them, most are trying to go where the culture goes to sell as much as possible. If it bothers me, I don’t have to buy their product - but I don’t have to be obnoxious about it.

I’m reminded of when basketball legend Michael Jordan, who became a billionaire thanks to his endorsement deal with Nike, was asked in 1990 to endorse a progressive candidate for the U.S. Senate in his home state of North Carolina. He refused and responded with a tongue-in-cheek answer that encapsulates the traditionally apolitical position of most businesses and businesspeople: “Republicans buy sneakers, too.” He did contribute to the candidate, but political contributions were not as widely reported then as they are today. It’s not uncommon for individuals and institutions whose primary focus is making a profit to donate to both political parties since they seek favor with whichever is in power.

Fast-forward to today, and it’s no longer permissible for companies to sell to everyone. In an age where everything is viewed through the lens of politics, and each side views the other as an existential threat to the existence of the republic, promoting a product to one market segment runs the risk of driving another away. It’s a no-win scenario for the business that, most likely, doesn’t care about the cause they appear to be promoting but want to sell to people who do. Nowadays, both political factions expect businesses to take a side.

However, what does Christ expect of His own?

Mind your own business

I’m not surprised by how secular folks respond in these situations. Secular people are going to respond in worldly ways, right? Paul told the Christians in Corinth not to judge non-believers but to ensure the church is holy:

What business is it of mine to judge those outside the church? Are you not to judge those inside? God will judge those outside. “Expel the wicked person from among you” (1 Corinthians 5:12, NIV).

Many people who’ve gone off the rails over the sales tactic of a beer company also wrap themselves in the name of Jesus Christ. To a non-believer, many proclaimed Christians appear to be more worked up over a beer marketing campaign than they are about clergy abuse, the corruption of Christianity by political and cultural agendas, political idolatry, racism and misogyny in the church, or any one of many sins that Paul says are our responsibility to adjudicate, as opposed to the behavior of outsiders.

As ambassadors of Christ, Christians should be particularly mindful of how they appear to non-believers. While I leave the question of a professed believer’s salvation up to God, I do have a responsibility to observe and evaluate the behavior of those who call themselves Christians because the impact of their words and actions doesn’t just affect them; other believers and people watching us to see if we’re different are affected as well. Most importantly, the reputation of Jesus is affected in the eyes of non-believers by how we behave.

In another passage of Scripture, Paul encourages the believers “to make it your ambition to lead a quiet life: You should mind your own business and work with your hands, just as we told you, so that your daily life may win the respect of outsiders and so that you will not be dependent on anybody” (1 Thessalonians 4:11-12). When Paul tells us to “mind your own business,” he’s saying that we should put our efforts into ensuring that we led exemplary lives rather than pointing out the faults of “outsiders.” He even lists being faultless in the eyes of the outside world as one of the qualifications for Christian leadership:

He must also have a good reputation with outsiders, so that he will not fall into disgrace and into the devil’s trap. (1 Timothy 3:7)

Peter gave the same guidance when he said, “Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us” (1 Peter 2:12).

Why is it so important that we look like saints in a sinful world? The question itself provides the answer. Just as the Israelites were commanded by God to be set apart from the rest of the world, Jesus asks us to display the fruit of the Holy Spirit every day and in every situation to show we are different from those who do not believe. You know the list - “love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control” (Galatians 5:22-23). It’s safe to say that destroying cans of Bud Light on social media doesn’t fall into those categories.

You're right if you’re fretting about the culture being sinful and on a path to judgment. However, that process started with Adam’s sin in the Garden of Eden and, in the words of Solomon, “What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun” (Ecclesiastes 1:9). The Christians the apostles encouraged to lead good, quiet lives in the eyes of outsiders lived in one of human history's most decadent, unholy, and repressive regimes. If they could be “pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere” (James 3:17) in their age, we have no reason to be otherwise in ours.

I love how Peter puts it: “Dear friends, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal that has come on you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you” (1 Peter 4:12). Yes, the world is going to hell in a handbasket, as the saying goes, but as Jesus admonished Peter when he inquired about someone else, so He commands us:

When Peter saw him, he asked, “Lord, what about him?” Jesus answered, “If I want him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you? You must follow me” (John 21:21-22).

The attention we give to the outrage of the week or matters that are not our concern takes our focus away from Jesus and the task He has put before us. He gave us the Mission and the Method - the Mission is to “make disciples of all nations” (Matthew 28:19), and the Method is to “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind” and “Love your neighbor as yourself” (Matthew 22:37, 39). It couldn’t be more straightforward.

Ask yourself this question: “If I didn’t know Jesus, what behavior would attract me to Him, and what would repel me?” That is the whole point of why we need to display the fruit of the Holy Spirit. To paraphrase an old saying, you don’t catch flies with vinegar or make disciples with a vinegary disposition.

Don’t just hear or read the Word - be a Doer

The passages of Scripture that call on us to be patient, kind, gentle, respectful, humble, et al., are so numerous that it astounds me that anyone who proclaims to be a Christian tries to justify behavior that is the antithesis of those traits. Paul speaks about putting on the new self, which is what happens to us when we give our lives to Christ, and in so doing, we are to dispense with our old ways for all time:

But now you must put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth (Colossians 3:8).

Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful (Colossians 3: 12-15).

If you declare yourself to be a Christian, I encourage you to put down the stone in your hand that you’re prepared to wield against whoever has you riled up, pick up your Bible and open it to the Book of Romans, and read verses 9 through 21 in Chapter 12. Or you can click here. It sums up the point I’m trying to make about how Christians should conduct themselves in a world where strife and sin still rule. Pay particular attention to these passages because this is where too many Christians stumble:

Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone. If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” says the Lord. On the contrary:

“If your enemy is hungry, feed him;

if he is thirsty, give him something to drink.

In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.”

Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good (Romans 12:17-21).

Too many of us are so exorcised at what we think is wrong in the world that we get impatient with God and feel like we must be His instruments of wrath. Where does it say that? How arrogant of us to assume that God isn’t working! Just because you can’t see His hand at work doesn’t mean things aren’t proceeding exactly as He expects. Is God surprised by anything? Is He uncertain? Does He ever exclaim, “I didn’t see that coming”? On the contrary, He declares:

Remember the former things, those of long ago;

I am God, and there is no other;

I am God, and there is none like me.

I make known the end from the beginning,

from ancient times, what is still to come.

I say, ‘My purpose will stand, and I will do all that I please.’” (Isaiah 46:9-10)

Jesus said, “My Father is always at his work to this very day, and I too am working” (John 5:17). We don’t have to worry whether God is moving in the world. He is fulfilling His mission, and He’s given us ours if we’d focus on it like a laser and not be pulled away by every passing controversy.

That’s why Jesus was so curt with Peter. He was telling Peter what He wanted him to do and preparing him for the challenges he would face and the eventual fate that awaited him, and Peter was more concerned about what would happen to someone else. It’s no wonder Jesus rebuked him and said, “It’s none of your business - you follow Me!”

Beloved ones, don’t be consumed by selective outrage. James warns us that “human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires” (James 1:20). It doesn’t matter if the outrage emerges from the left, right, or middle - it’s a distraction from the Mission - making disciples - and the Method - loving God and loving people. “It’s none of your business - you follow Me!”

I’ll raise a glass to that - just not one with beer.