14th
God + weed?
I want to defend it. I really do. And regardless of what is to follow in this post, it holds true that I do accept the realities of marijuana. When people argue for marijuana in a legislative context, I, for the most part, agree with their views. In my childhood, I’ve been miseducated about marijuana through failed programs such as D.A.R.E. I agree wholeheartedly that marijuana and its users have in fact, been unfairly marked very harshly in society.
But this post isn’t about legislation nor is it about the ever shifting conventional morality. This post is about Truth and how marijuana use simply cannot work in the Christian walk.
I frequently find myself involved in conversations about weed and God and for a while, I was torn. This torn-ness was a difficult crossroads in my early Christian walk, when I was seeking out truth and organizing the voices and messages that I have absorbed in my pre-Christ and post-Christ life. But I think I’ve found an answer. (I am being intentionally meticulous with the wording of that last sentence because I am not theologically competent enough to boast of my words as THE Answer.)
I’ll start off with some Truth:
Ephesians 5:18 - Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit.
<end Truth>
The people I have discussed this whole topic of weed and God with oftentimes bring up this verse, then desperately tear it to pieces in an attempt to find a loophole.
“It’s about wine, not about weed! The Bible doesn’t say anything about weed…”
“It just says ‘Do not get drunk.’ I don’t smoke to get blasted. Just to chill, man…”
OK, About the first quote… real talk: this one is pretty feeble. Anyone who has read a book could dismantle this argument since it’s pretty obvious that the concern of this verse is not so much over wine as it is over drunkenness. You could replace the word, wine, with meth, crack or wood glue and it wouldn’t really alter the message that is intended.
The second quote is the one that I struggled with, because it was one that I used, internalized, and justified for a while. Here’s the point that I’ve come to: It’s mostly about your motive. You may disagree with me, but I like alcohol. I like that when enjoyed in moderation, it encourages honest discussion. And I think most of us can agree when I say that there are plenty of times when we drink alcohol with absolutely no intent to get drunk off of it.
In contrast, I’ve never experienced a situation in which people smoke weed without the anticipation to get high. Oh sure, you could replace the word “high” with another that is a little less ugly like, “chill” or “blazed” or my personal favorite, “lifted.” But let’s be real here. You smoke, you get high. In fact, if you don’t, wouldn’t you demand a refund from your dealer? But then again, you wouldn’t kick down the door of a liquor store and throw a receipt into the owner’s face because a bottle of Bud Light didn’t make you feel awesome.
So, for any Christian that is along his or her walk and desires to be filled with the Spirit to use a substance with the intent and anticipation to reach a point of drunkenness, high-ness, chill-ness, or lifted-ness, is pretty nonsensical.
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I do have a part two to this topic, however, it’s based a lot more on interpretation and personal views on drugs and faith so maybe another time or another medium is more appropriate.
All in all, I hope that those of you struggling with substances didn’t feel attacked or condemned, and if you were, it was not my intent and from the bottom of my heart, I apologize. This post is more of the manifestation of an answer I’ve come to in my walk with Christ that led me to move on. I can testify that since that point, I’ve experienced greater heights of emotion, compassion, clarity, and creativity than any substance could offer me and I really hope we can get to experience these things together.
