Recent headlines have highlighted heartbreaking stories involving teenagers and alcohol—like a 19-year-old college student who nearly froze to death after binge drinking, or a 16-year-old who, while intoxicated, killed four people in a tragic crash. At the same time, public conversation flared around remarks made by Duck Dynasty’s Phil Robertson, who quoted scripture about sexual sin and sparked a wave of both backlash and support.

Some of his words were harsh, and many—including Christians—took issue with his delivery. But his message, rooted in traditional Christian beliefs about sexuality, marriage, and morality, touched on deeper issues that many believers quietly wrestle with: Are we still standing for what we believe? And if we are, how are we doing it?

The culture around us is shifting rapidly. Many churches today struggle to balance compassion with conviction, especially when it comes to topics like sexuality, substance abuse, and personal freedom. In some cases, it feels like Christians are either backing away from difficult teachings out of fear of offending others, or they’re engaging in culture wars with more heat than light.

But somewhere in the middle is the hard, holy work of being like Christ—loving boldly, speaking truthfully, and living with integrity.

We hear a lot about showing grace—and rightly so. But grace isn’t just God giving us a pass. It’s His invitation to transformation. The gospel doesn’t affirm our worst impulses—it calls us to rise above them. That applies to all of us, no exceptions. Whether it’s sexual sin, addiction, or pride, we’re called to recognize brokenness, not embrace it, and then allow the Spirit of Christ to reshape us.

There’s a powerful scripture Phil Robertson referenced—1 Corinthians 6:9–10—which lists various behaviors that separate us from God’s kingdom, including drunkenness, adultery, and sexual immorality. It’s easy to get caught up in arguments about which sins are worse or whether it’s fair to compare one to another. But the point isn’t comparison. It’s transformation. None of us are exempt from the call to change.

In light of that, we should also ask why the national conversation about teen drinking and tragedies like Ethan Couch’s didn’t prompt more Christian voices to speak about the dangers of alcohol abuse from a spiritual standpoint. If we’re silent on those issues but loud on others, what message are we really sending?

This isn’t about being political. It’s about being faithful.

We live in a country where adults should absolutely have the right to live their lives in peace. That includes people in the LGBT community, and they should never be mistreated or dehumanized. But that doesn’t mean we abandon what we believe about God’s standards. Instead, we live them. We reflect Christ by how we treat others—and by how we live when no one’s watching.

So here’s a challenge—not to condemn, but to inspire: let’s be the change we want to see. Let’s avoid the traps the world sets—be it pride, greed, or the party culture that tells young people drinking is harmless. Let’s love people boldly, including our gay and lesbian friends, and let’s also be honest that God’s kingdom has boundaries. Jesus didn’t come to shame people—He came to save them. But He also didn’t shy away from calling sin what it was.

And let’s not forget that the goal isn’t perfection overnight. Christ said, “Be ye therefore perfect,” not because He expects instant results, but because He invites us on a lifelong journey of growth. What we choose to carry—and what we choose to let go—shapes who we become, both in this life and the next.

In closing, maybe the government shouldn’t be in the marriage business at all. Perhaps “civil unions” should replace legal marriage, leaving religious institutions to define marriage through their own convictions. In an ideal world, freedom would be protected for all adults, and faith could flourish without being forced.

But as Christians, our real work is internal. It’s about becoming the kind of people whose lives reflect the gospel—full of grace, grounded in truth, and overflowing with love.

Scott Thormaehlen received his Master’s in History in 2016 and taught U.S. History in the Lone Star College system in Houston, Texas and for Alvin Community College. His writings have appeared in Accuracy in Academia, the Journal of Multidisciplinary Studies at Sam Houston State University, LDS Living, Meridian Magazine, and East Texas History – a project by Sam Houston State University.