Can a Christian Use Marijuana? (Luke 21:34-36)

Can a Christian Use Marijuana?
Luke 21:34-36
INTRODUCTION
When Rachel and I lived in Kentucky, there was an elderly widow in the congregation named Virginia. She has passed away now. But she lived alone and she was very independent. One day she was out mowing her yard on a riding lawn mower and the mower got stuck. So, she proceeded to push the lawn mower out of the ditch! At 88 years old! And she cracked some vertebrae in her spine. That, of course, caused pain. It wasn’t but a few months after that when she was doing something and broke a bone in her shoulder, her clavicle or something (I don’t remember).

Rachel and I were visiting with her and she was complaining about her pain and I just happened to ask her if she was taking her pain medicine. She said, “no.” I said, “why not!?” She said, “I don’t want to get addicted.” I said, “Virginia! You are 88 years old, who cares if you get addicted!”

Well, I was just being funny, but Virginia was concerned about getting addicted and the biggest danger with this type of chemical addiction - just like when we talked about the use of alcohol - is that when something we take affects our minds, our thinking, then it puts us in a dangerous position when Jesus comes back.

HE IS COMING UNEXPECTEDLY:
I have recently given two lessons which dealt with the flood of Noah in which the NT - Jesus Himself - points out that His second coming will be unexpected. When Jesus comes back, people will be marrying and being given in marriage, they will be buying and selling, planting and harvesting. In other words, everything in life will be going on as it normally would when Jesus comes back.

Jesus is coming back unexpectedly. He will catch every living person by surprise. That’s why it is imperative that we keep control of our minds as much as possible, even when we are under supervision of a doctor with medications.

MARIJUANA:

In 2018, a little over half of the people of Michigan voted to legalize marijuana - 56%. Now, did you realize that cannabis is still illegal on the federal level where it is classified as a Schedule 1 drug under the Controlled Substances Act? So far, no federal agency has legally determined that marijuana can be used acceptably even for medicinal purposes. So, on the federal level, the use of marijuana is prohibited for any purpose. Do you know what that means?

That means that it is sinful for a Christian to use marijuana for any purpose - even medicinally. It is illegal; therefore it is sinful.

The elders have asked me to give a lesson on the use of marijuana by Christians and to be fair, we have to broaden this discussion to all drugs, both legal and illegal. Just because someone with an “M.D.” after their name gives us a prescription it does not necessarily mean we should be doing that particular drug or behavior. I am not a doctor and I don’t want to tread on the territory of doctors. But I am a Christian and I need to sound the warning about taking drugs that will affect our minds so that we might not be prepared for when Jesus comes again.

I do not want to get into an in-depth discussion of marijuana and cannabis; that’s a discussion for one of our medical professionals. When I do understand is that the primary mind-altering drug in marijuana is tetrahydrocannabinol or “THC” for short. Just like when we discussed the difference between wine / alcohol in biblical times versus the alcohol content today… the amount of THC in marijuana in the 1980s was 4%. Ten years ago, the National Institute on Drug Abuse said that confiscated marijuana now has THC levels that average about 15%. So the potent mind-altering drug in marijuana has quadrupled in thirty years. Some of that tested, THC has been as high as 30%.

I understand the harmful compounds in marijuana are even more negative and potentially deadly than the compounds found in tobacco. Now, we have spent billions of dollars over the decades studying the effects of tobacco, which we have not relative to the use of marijuana.

The effect of THC on the brain can cause someone to feel “high” with the stimulation of the production of dopamine. But it can also contribute to schizophrenia and other psychological problems. Once schizophrenia starts, stopping the use of marijuana does not make it go away.

Both illegal and legal drugs that affect our thinking can be very dangerous from a spiritual perspective. Marijuana, for example, clouds your sense and your judgment.

JESUS WARNS US TO KEEP CONTROL OF OUR MINDS - Luke 21:34-36:
Observe what Jesus warns His disciples about in Luke 21:34-36: “Be on guard, so that your hearts will not be weighted down with dissipation and drunkenness and the worries of life, and that day will not come on you suddenly like a trap; for it will come upon all those who dwell on the face of all the earth. But keep on the alert at all times, praying that you may have strength to escape all these things that are about to take place, and to stand before the Son of Man.”

In this context, Jesus is discussing the destruction of the world (ver. 35). So Jesus says, “be on your guard.” Jesus warns that our hearts (our “minds”) should not be weighted down with “dissipation” - that’s a loss of energy, a loss of concentration, a loss of focus. In other words, if you are under the influence of marijuana or some other drug, opioids or whatever, and you have lost concentration on glorifying Christ in your thoughts and heart and your actions, then you have sinned against Jesus and you are not ready for heaven!

Jesus also says we should not be “weighted down” with drunkenness or the “worries of this life.” Notice that getting too caught up with worldly affairs can also be sinful! We can allow ourselves to get so preoccupied with what is going on in this country or in our lives from a physical perspective that we lose our concentration on serving Christ and being faithful to Him. Then we sin and we are not prepared for heaven.

Jesus is warning us that the day He returns can catch us like a trap. But the only way for us to avoid that trap is to be prepared, spiritually and also mentally. And drugs fight against that goal, that process.

JESUS REFUSED MIND-ALTERING DRUGS - Mark 15:22-23:
“Then they brought Him to the place Golgotha, which is translated, Place of a Skull. They tried to give Him wine mixed with myrrh; but He did not take it.”

Matthew’s account uses the word “gall” instead of myrrh. What was this “wine mixed with myrrh”? Mixing myrrh with wine was an analgesic, a pain reliever. Observe here, family, that Jesus was experiencing intense pain, which He chose to endure in its full force without any pain reliever so that He would not sin against His Heavenly Father.

Now, I am certainly not saying that we cannot take pain relievers. But I am warning us that taking medicines or drugs or the sake of pain but that have the side effect of affecting our thinking can be very dangerous. If we are under a doctor’s supervision, we might want to ask for something that does not affect our minds as much as other drugs.

Take a look at an example from the OT, Daniel 5:1-6:

“Belshazzar the king held a great feast for a thousand of his nobles, and he was drinking wine in the presence of the thousand. When Belshazzar tasted the wine, he gave orders to bring the gold and silver vessels which Nebuchadnezzar his father had taken out of the temple which was in Jerusalem, so that the king and his nobles, his wives and his concubines might drink from them. Then they brought the gold vessels that had been taken out of the temple, the house of God which was in Jerusalem; and the king and his nobles, his wives and his concubines drank from them. They drank the wine and praised the gods of gold and silver, of bronze, iron, wood and stone. Suddenly the fingers of a man’s hand emerged and began writing opposite the lampstand on the plaster of the wall of the king’s palace, and the king saw the back of the hand that did the writing. Then the king’s face grew pale and his thoughts alarmed him, and his hip joints went slack and his knees began knocking together.”

Observe here that King Belshazzar sins against God by praising false gods and using items which had been dedicated to the true God, but he uses them in worship of false gods - all under the influence of a mind-altering drug. In this case, it was alcohol.

Sin is not a joke and if we allow ourselves to be enticed into sin because we are looking for a “high” feeling, then we will be judged for that.

Another concern is that if we are taking drugs in order to help us cope with the challenges of life - maybe emotional or psychological challenges of life - then it is keeping us from trusting in Christ the way we should. In that case, the drug has become our god and the pill has become our idol. There is sin, of course, in that as well.

CAUSES OF ADDICTION
Let me broaden our discussion just a little… As you might expect, there are numerous causes of addictions. Some addicts were emotionally wounded. One study I saw said that 81% of sex addicts were sexually abused, 74% were physically abused, 97% were emotionally abused.

Some addicts did not have strong, healthy relationships with their parents when they were growing up. A stress-filled home life can cause children, then teens, then adults to seek peace and solace in something else. Some addictions are used to avoid negative feelings like loneliness, anxiety, anger, and grief.

We all know that there is a degree of chemical dependency in addiction. Even non-drug related addictions like shopping or pornography or gambling stimulates the production of hormones like dopamine that simply makes you feel better. The behavior creates a stimulating affect on your body. Of course, once you start down this path, it takes increasingly more and more chemical to get the desired effect. Your body adjusts to the level of hormones you’ve been creating and it needs more and more.

For Christians, forgetting who we are and whose we are can lead us to seek dependence on something else besides Jesus Christ. Some Christians have unrealistic expectations of themselves and when they fail, as we all invariably do, they seek fulfillment in something that is easier to control than life itself. Sometimes, we become illogical and irrational.

Addiction, simply put, is rebellion against God. The addiction itself becomes an idol which consumes our thoughts, guides our behavior, drains our finances, and becomes something on which we based our trust and subsequently our lives.

The bottom line is that addiction has serious negative repercussions. They affect your physical health, your mental health, your financial health, your self-image and your self-esteem, but mostly, it affects your relationship with God. It is for that reason that addictions have to be avoided. But if we find ourselves trapped, we need to back out of it, stop it, and start avoiding those people, places, or atmospheres that contribute to the addiction.

STEPS TO RECOVERY
Confess your problem to someone you trust who can help you stay accountable to God – James 5:16. Talk to someone honestly to see if you do, in fact, have an addiction. Then pray together.
If it is an addiction to something that impairs your mental abilities, you need to take precautions to keep yourself safe and others around you. If you need to give up the keys to your car, do it. It is for the best interests of all those around you – Matthew 7:12.
If the addiction is a chemical addiction, get medical help. Get professional help from counselors or Alcoholics Anonymous or Narcotics Anonymous.
If it is an addiction to some behavior like gambling or shopping or pornography – or even the internet in general like web-surfing or things like Facebook, do what has to be done to stop the behavior. Get rid of the internet or get filtering software and have someone else set the passwords. Get rid of credit cards; go to a cash-only basis. Matthew 18:8-9.
You have to change your behavior. If stress is a trigger to the addictive behavior, do something that keeps you out of such a stressful environment. Fill your life with better, more wholesome activities and friends – Luke 11:21-26.
As a Christian, recognize that Christ dwells in you and has put to death sins in your heart. Now, you have to live in the light of that crucifixion – Colossians 3:5-6.

Take home message: Don’t get addicted to this world; become addicted to Christ and let His life fill your life with joy and happiness.