Do You Still Hang With Mary Jane?

What’s wrong with smoking weed?

So some recent studies have given parents new nightmares about the world of teenagers. Teenagers are using more marijuana and less alcohol.   And if that wasn’t enough, cigarettes are less popular with teens but they are still smoking.  Guess what?  They are smoking marijuana.

You know I can’t remember one sensible Christian article on marijuana use over the past 10 years?

And yet I’ve had more than one Christian man ask me if it was okay for him to use marijuana.

How would you respond? Do you believe it is okay for a Christian man to smoke cannabis?

Here are some of my reflections on the subject of weed and the Christian man:

The Bible and Weed
There isn’t a direct reference to marijuana use in the Bible.  So does that mean it is okay to smoke weed?  The Bible doesn’t say anything about cocaine but it doesn’t mean you can go snort!  If we examine Biblical principles and values we can see that smoking marijuana is wrong for the Christian man.

For instance, even though alcohol use is prevalent in the Bible, the Bible condemns being drunk/intoxicated.  I would say that the Bible as a whole values self-control.
But having a glass of wine is not the same as smoking a joint.  Marijuana will impair your judgment and perhaps worse (I’ve seen people hallucinate from marijuana).

The “high” of marijuana violates the standard for self-control, discernment and wisdom expected by our Heavenly Father from His sons.

You are Going to Get Arrested
How long do you really think God is going to let you go around buying marijuana without getting arrested?  You are willfully breaking the law.  And Christian men who believe the Bible know that all government authority comes from God.  Should we follow the government in a sin against God?  Certainly not.  But smoking weed is not the same as the Civil Rights movement or preaching the Gospel in an oppressive government.

Our priority as Christian men is to be known as men of integrity and honor: Men who are a benefit not a detriment to our society.

You are Supporting an Intricate Chain of Lies and Murder.
There are men doing evil things to keep the drug trade moving.  That one act of purchasing cannabis puts you on their doorstep and you bring the weight of that evil to your lips, into your lungs and your spirit.  You need to remember that you are connecting yourself to a web of crime.  When Burger King sets up shop across the street from McDonald’s there isn't a shoot out.  Buying and selling marijuana supports multiple levels of crime and destruction especially among the poorest communities. 

You are Killing Your Manhood
There has always been a debate about whether marijuana makes a man impotent.  And while the very idea of impotence should send a Christian man running from any drug there is also another kind of weakness caused by marijuana.  It is a spiritual one.

Back in high school a teacher shared with me, “Onorio, marijuana kills ambition.”  I thought she was nuts.  But she was very serious and very right.  Every drug has a “spirit” like alcohol “depresses” and cocaine “speeds” things up.  My teacher wasn’t even a Christian but she left me with food for thought that became real years later.

Marijuana kills ambition.  Perhaps not in the beginning.  But it slowly chops away at a man’s creativity, innovation, leadership and vision.

Marijuana is a Cheap Substitute for God
Idolatry is seeking security and meaning in anything other than God.  Getting high is a substitute for thinking and feeling a dimension of existence that is only truly experienced with God.

Think about it. There are studies dedicated to how exercise, meditation and prayer help the mind experience “natural” highs and positive transformation.  So then what is weed or any drug except a quick and destructive way to experience a transcending and existential lift without God? 

I close by quoting my brother, Minister Dario Lariosa who asks, “What are you escaping from?  What are you hiding from?”  Getting high is an attempt to fill a gap in the human heart and mind, a great big hole that only God can fill.

What are your thoughts as a Christian man?

How would you answer a young man who asks you, “what’s wrong with smoking weed?”


Post your thoughts below.

Your brother,

Minister Onorio