Article April 5, 2010 Issue

I DIDN'T HAVE TO DRINK ALCOHOL

Prayer-based confidence and spiritual poise helped this university student in his decision to refrain from drinking alcohol.

BY CYRUS NJAGI

First appeared on spirituality.com on February 3, 2010

"Cyrus, this is super. Take a sip." I still recall those words from my university roommate and friend one evening at a restaurant as he extended his bottle of alcohol to me. He said it convincingly and in a somewhat cunning intonation. We were in the second semester of our first year. We had just settled into campus life and were now spending some time celebrating our high school victories and the fact that we'd made it this far.

At the time, I was undergoing several other transitions in my personal life. One was that I had just found Christian Science and was devotedly applying its teachings. All my life I had not taken alcohol, and I was now gaining spiritual affirmations about why I should continue not to consume it.

That night we were with a group of classmates, and everyone else but me was drinking alcohol. Though I didn't want to be conspicuous, I didn't want to follow the crowd just to fit in and be seen as cool. Neither did I intend to be judgmental of others' choices.

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