by Tad Lindley
As a younger man, I sported uncut hair for many years. It seemed to attract people who wanted to talk to me about marijuana. Over the years there were those who described to me the legalization of marijuana as a solution to the world’s political, social, and economic problems. They would proudly proclaim the virtues of the fibers that are produced from the marijuana plant. How it would boost the economy of third world nations, and reduce the use of harmful pesticides presently used in cotton production.
What were they trying to say?
Forgive me if I am reading too much into this, but I believe inwardly, they were drooling about the thought of being able to smoke marijuana any time and any place without fear of arrest.
Now that I’ve been baptized in Jesus’ name and received the gift of the Holy Ghost, people tend to ask me about God’s perspective on marijuana. Often the question goes something like this, “Didn’t God make marijuana, and isn’t it good?” Again, I think that often times they are simply looking for words to support an addiction that they know deep down in their heart is cutting them off from God.
Yes, God did make the cannabis plant
The Bible says this: Then God said, “Let the land produce vegetation: seed-bearing plants and trees on the land that bear fruit with seed in it, according to their various kinds.” And it was so. The land produced vegetation: plants bearing seed according to their kinds and trees bearing fruit with seed in it according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good. (Genesis 1:11-12 NIV) The Lord made marijuana. Just the same as he made corn, wheat, salmon berries, spruce trees and rose bushes.
Good for what?
And when God made these things, he saw that they were good. Spruce trees are good for burning and building, but you’ll notice that not many things eat spruce. Rose bushes are nice to smell and look at, but not too many people lay back and relax in a bed of roses. Salmonberry fruit is good, but not many people eat the leaves or burn the stems to heat their homes.
The reason for THC
THC, the chemical in marijuana that people become addicted to has a specific purpose. Just like roses make thorns to keep animals from eating them, marijuana plants produce THC to keep insects from eating them. Nicotine works the same way in tobacco. Yes, the Lord made marijuana, and the Lord designed THC, but its purpose is not for human recreation, but for the plant’s defense.
Here’s a really good line that you should underline
God gave man iron. Iron has a purpose. But when men use steel knives to stab people or automobiles to run them over, no one would say in their defense, “God made iron, so he must want people to be stabbed.” And yet is that not what the heroin addict tells herself, “God made the poppy plant…”, or the man dying of lung cancer, “God gave man tobacco…” When people take the things that God made for good and use them for evil, that is man’s plan, not God’s purpose.
Then where does the Bible say…
The second question that is often asked then is this: “Where does the Bible tell me not to smoke marijuana?” It doesn’t. Neither does it tell us not to eat strychnine or smoke crack. Nor does it tell us not to smoke Camel cigarettes or not to shoot heroin. In fact the Bible gives us this direction, All things are lawful unto me, but all things are not expedient: all things are lawful for me, but I will not be brought under the power of any. (1 Corinthians 6:12)
Lawful, but not expedient
Is marijuana lawful in God’s economy? Yes. Its fiber makes good rope, and perhaps good cloth. Should we then smoke or eat marijuana? The Bible says, “but I will not be brought under the power of any”. Ask any drug-free school teacher, and they will be able to tell you about what happens when a young person comes under the power of marijuana. The effect on a person’s productivity drops off significantly under the influence of THC. The same is true of alcohol and other mind-altering substances. But not only does it decrease productivity, it drastically reduces our chances for salvation. In I Corinthians 6:9-10, the Bible is very clear that drunkenness prevents us from inheriting the kingdom of God. Is not being stoned another form of drunkenness, a different seat on the Titanic?
Sin makes life bitter, not better
Marijuana changes people. Both while they are under the influence, and when the money runs out they are unwillingly sober and need more. When we expose ourselves to things that have power over us, like addicting drugs, we open up the devil to wreak havoc in our lives. Ask any couple who fights before payday when the money and marijuana have run out. Ask any parent whose teenager has hated them for interfering with their marijuana smoking. Marijuana brings people under its power.
Hope stronger than dope
What should we do if we are under the power of marijuana, or any addiction for that matter? We need to be brought under the power of the Holy Ghost. Jesus told his disciples in Acts 1:8 (NIV), You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you. And we also are told that Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. (2 Corinthians 3:17 NIV)
Reverend Tad Lindley is a minister at the United Pentecostal Church in Bethel, Alaska.
