Drinking a little of wine certainly is not the issue, the Bible doesn't condemn that. But there are quite some hints (or commandments, depending on how seriously you take the Word) as to the preferences of the Bible authors, not the least one being: Do not look at wine...
Just a few quick points from my limited point of view, and the world hasn't really improved since Paul's time:
1) As to Cana, Jesus was at a wedding feast. Even if they drank alcoholic wine, a wedding is a one-time event, supposedly, for every person on earth. A non-event for people like the apostle Paul. Why did people like Paul exist after Jesus' ministry? To give us...recommendations about life and death issues, just maybe? Do believers of a divorce-ridden age think they should do everything habitually?
2) The Cana wedding planners didn't think wine a priority, so they had rather too little wine than too much. It was so low on alcohol that people drained the supplies in short order.
3) One cannot preclude the possibility of Jesus creating new wine without alcohol that tasted better and had a nicer effect than anything potable, He being the Creator. Is wine Jesus' concern? No, it's the New Covenant of His Blood, the heavenly drink that is taken spiritually.
3) Does a human being know the threshold level of alcohol altering the brain functions? Not possible. We cannot watch the molecules in action.
4) Drunkards shall not enter the kingdom, did someone say? But when exactly are we drunkards? We cannot see the molecules. Maybe it relates to the habit, rather than to the ostensible excess? Just like every habitual problem, if you prefer that term to "sin", the small habit that occupies our soul is more significant than a rare lapse. My joy is the Lord, or elsewhere.
5) Haven't we met alcohol-addicts who are in dire need of abstinence for the very real daily danger of relapse? How do you know them when u don't know them personally. They might be sitting next to you, while you enjoy your minimum of 2 dl. In fact, they might be talking from that pulpit. Let alone the fathers, teachers, managers, rulers, soldiers, all entrusted with decision-making and being role models. We should pray for their deliverance, not condone that which is life-threatening to many, albeit harmless to some.
6) Did anyone notice the cases when drug-addicts including habitual drinkers quit right after being born again? As believers, we are free to choose, nothing in itself being harmful (of course), but isn't it telling that fresh converts receive the grace to quit something that is identified with pre-conversion life in most people? Oh, and if you haven't seen such cases, what kind of church are you in?
7) Have you noticed the "ministers" who lost their ministry or wife or family or long life because of just a little bit of drinking (among other things maybe) that turned into habitual drinking.
8) Paul had to advise Timothy to drink a bit of wine for medical reasons, other medical treatment pending invention. What does that tell us about Timothy, the successor of Paul? Do the wine-bibbers drink wine as medicine? What does that, and the entire Bible, tell us about being merry and feasting, vs. weeping and grieving for the sorry state of the world of banquets.
9) Some are lucky to control themselves to max. 2 glasses a day, but what does it signal to people around them, e.g. their own children. Is drinking 2 liters of beer within an hour or faster just a sport? In some areas or goups, 2 L per hour seems to be the minimum (per hour, mind you). Occasional beer drinkers including some outstanding theologians did not live in today's let's have a "5 L+ on every possible occasion" environment.
10) Do not be drunk with wine, but be filled with the Spirit. Aren't we living in a time of fasting and prayer? Better to check the words of Jesus. Who on earth has the surplus time and resources to enjoy earthly life with wine, or even beer and hard drinks and whatever goes with that, if possible? Why did some areas close down the pubs after a revival? Seek ye first the kingdom. Should we imitate the world, just because we think we can afford it? It might cost...maybe not you, but someone you know.
