Party Hard

Welcome back to “Sins of the World!” I’ve been looking deeper at the words of Galatians 5:19-21 to talk about the works of the flesh that we need to avoid and how these acts can be replaced through the Fruits of the Spirit. In Part 14, we talked about drunkenness, which describes a state of intoxication brought on by alcoholic excess. The Scriptures warn us about willfully over indulging on alcohol. When this happens, our inhibitions are lowered, relationships are put at risk, and we stray away from the presence and self-control. Alcohol weakens our ability to regulate our emotions, decision-making, and impulsivity. It also increases our chance of becoming more aggressive to those around us. We see the reinforcement of avoiding drunkenness in Luke 21:34, where it talks about how drunkenness can cloud our judgment. The Bible doesn’t say that we cannot or should not drink. While sobriety is an ideal for some, the goal is moderation and self-control. Proverbs 20:1 talks about how being drunk can weaken our judgment and can create a behavior that dishonors God and causes harm to those around us. Again, we talk about the ideal of watching what you drink through moderation. Ensure your drinking habits are considering the well-being of others, bring someone that can keep you accountable if needed, and ensure that you watch what drinking makes you become.

In Part 15, we wrap up the works of the flesh with talking about these “wild parties.” Typically, these have been known as orgies depending the translation of the Bible you use, but they are still wild by context. Parties like that can allow our flesh to take over and guide into harmful and degrading places. What does Paul say about them?

REFLECTION CHECKPOINT: When you hear about wild parties, what comes to mind? Have you ever been to a wild party? If so, how did they make you feel?

What These Wild Parties Entails

The Greek word that Paul uses to describe these wild parties and orgies is kómos (KO-mos). These wild parties describes a riotous, self-indulgent celebration that places bodily appetites above worship for God. We see it connected to drunkenness and orgies to show a lifestyle that focuses on pleasure instead of the Spirit.

In the Greco-Roman world, the wild parties was a public event connect to Dionysian worship. The party-goers would walk through the streets with torches, music, and masks – celebrating fertility and wine. The worship was not just a social experience, but it was cultic. They were worshiping the false gods of fertility and wine. These parties end in emptiness and judgment, where the Fruits of the Spirit produces joy.

For us, it’s a call for us to watch our entertainment choices. Does it align with our gratitude for God or does ignite our fleshly desires? A lot of times, I hear the conversation surrounding how porn is used. There are industries that do create healthy and ethical porn content, but there are still a lot that is committing unethical, manipulative, and degrading. The rise of generative AI in the industry creates more chances for unethical content to get made. We must also practice accountable fellowship. Like we talked about in Part 14, we looked at the helpfulness with accountability when it comes to drunkenness. The wild parties will enhance our opportunities to submit our desires to the things of the world, and we definitely would need additional help to ensure that we don’t cross our own boundaries and allow these desires to take over. When we’re yearning for the community aspect of these parties, find opportunities where we can worship and come together, especially in moments of tough conversations. These moments where we can gather together to talk about topics like grief, mental health, AA, and more can be more impactful than just going to church on Sunday. We can focus on creating spaces centered on grace and mercy, while celebrating the transformations that do occur in the healing process.

REFLECTION CHECKPOINT: How can we gather for entertainment purposes in a way that honors God and those around us?

Behavior Misaligned With God’s Will

Let’s land in the words of 1 Peter to learn about these wild parties. 1 Peter 4:3 says:

AMP – For the time already past is [more than] enough for doing what the [unsaved] Gentiles like to do – living [unrestrained as you have done] in a course of [shameless] sensuality, lusts, drunkenness, carousing, drinking parties, and wanton idolatries.

NRSVUE – You have already spent enough time in doing what the gentiles like to do, living in debauchery, passions, drunkenness, revels, carousing, and lawless idolatry.

VOICE – You have already wasted enough time living like those outsiders in the society around you: losing yourselves in sex, in addictions and desires, in drinking and lawless idolatry, in giving your time and allegiance to things that are not godly.

Many of the people that Peter spoke to came from pagan backgrounds and had participated in the patterns of life that were accepted by their neighbors. Following Christ meant they would have to break away from their old life because those who follow Him are called to live aligned with God’s will instead of human passion. Things of pagan life (feasts, drinking, false worship) all denied the existence of God. These behaviors go against God and the self-control that He gifts to us through the Holy Spirit.

REFLECTION CHECKPOINT: How do these behaviors take you away from God’s will?

The Battle Against the Wild

The big thing that this passage resonates with me is the focus on the past. The author of first Peter describes how the past is not longer where we are, for we are in a new covenant with Christ. In that same vein, how often are Christians judging each other because of their past. As for me, I walked through this exact situation when I went through my sextortion incident back in 2023. When I return to church, and my job, during that point – things were not the same. Instead of being treated as a person who messed up, which was a true case, I was treated as a pedophile. I was treated as a criminal. I wasn’t given forgiveness, as God gives. I was give stipulations. I was given more rules. I worked through my struggles, understood where I went wrong, and to become stronger of who I am today.

I allowed my own feeling to get in the way of my rationality. I was talking to someone online that turned out to be a scammer. It ruined me when things broke down. It broke me when I recognized I was taken advantage of. When it go to be too much, I spoke with a close friend. I got the police involved. I self-reported the situation to my job. I made sure to cover my butt in every way, but it didn’t cover the deeper aspects of my situation. I have spent many hours working through these feelings, understand different mindsets and, and principals. I learned more about how God views things like sex, intimacy, relationships, conversations, and more. I’ve learned better ways of honoring God with things like that, and moving away from the things that do not. These things don’t align with God’s ideal, and even situations like the one I went don’t tend to look like wild parties.

How can we live life is aligned with God is through community, worship, and love. Types of events needs to bring people together, bringing people of all backgrounds together to celebrate God’s life and love. We can work together to bring good into this world. To provide opportunities of transformation and reconciliation. We don’t need to celebrate immoral content, get drunk, and commit to the works of the flesh, but we can celebrate the life that God gave us to align it with His will.

REFLECTION CHECKPOINT: What does my story tell you about how we can avoid the effects of wild parties?

Preview of Part 16

A quick preview of the finale on Saturday. We’re doing a quick run through of the Fruits of the Spirit. It will be a little shorter than the normal blogs because we have a lot to cover, but I think it will be helpful. It’ll be a quick synopsis of the Greek translation, and how we can understand that term in our world today. Until then, stay blessed!