I’m the last person you’d expect to write an article about the ethics of recreational marijuana usage. Although I’ve enjoyed premium cigars for about 15 years, I’ve simply never been interested in using pot, due in no small measure to the fact that I am a serial rule-follower and live in a state (Georgia) in which recreational marijuana usage is still illegal.
Pastorally, Georgia’s legal codes have made it easy for me to teach on this issue. Romans 13:1 tells us to be subject to our governing authorities. Our governing authorities in this state tell us not to smoke pot. Since nothing in Scripture explicitly commands us to use marijuana, we should live in obedience to the laws of the land.
Though there has been no personal or pastoral urgency for me to think through recreational marijuana usage, now is the time for parents to do just that. Gallup recently reported that the percentage of the American population which uses marijuana has more than doubled over the past decade. Not to mention, more than 50% of the population has used marijuana, and 70% of Americans think that marijuana should be legalized.
The teenagers in our homes and churches are thinking about these questions. Are we?
The purpose of this article is to provide guidelines for parents to do just that. Through God’s Word, for God’s glory, and for the good of the teenagers we are called to serve and shepherd.
“And it Was Good” (For What?)
Scripture is neither explicit nor silent on the question of recreational marijuana usage. While there is no specific mention of marijuana in the Bible, there are a number of helpful principles which should inform how Christians should use it.
Let’s start where Scripture starts: the creation narrative of Genesis 1. On the third day of God’s creative week, “God said, ‘Let the earth sprout vegetation, plants yielding seed, and fruit trees bearing fruit in which is their seed, each according to its kind, on the earth.’ And it was so. The earth brought forth vegetation, plants yielding seed according to their own kinds, and trees bearing fruit in which is their seed, each according to its kind. And God saw that it was good” (Gen. 1:11-12).
Along with other forms of vegetation, God created the marijuana plant – and saw that it was good. But for what?
Everything that the Lord made is inherently “good” in its pre-fallen condition. But even before sin invaded the created order, there was the possibility of bad usages of inherently good things. The Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil is the most striking example. God created this tree, and saw that it was good. But when Adam and Eve used the tree’s fruit in an attempt to be like God, the results were disastrous both for them and for humanity (see Gen. 3:1-24).
Scripture shows us that just because something is inherently good does not mean that every potential use of it is. A robust understanding both of creation and the fall will lead discerning Christians to ask the following questions of marijuana:
For what purposes might God have created marijuana?
In Allysia Finley’s article, “What You Aren’t Hearing About Marijuana’s Health Effects,” expert Bertha Madras noted that medicinal marijuana usage showed some potential beneficial medicinal value as a therapeutic for neuropathic pain. At the same time, Madras simultaneously noted, “For other types of pain, and for all other conditions, there is no strong evidence from high-quality randomized trials to support [marijuana’s] use.” Even if marijuana may be helpful as a therapeutic for onecondition, it is not necessarily a good course of treatment for other conditions.
What conditions promote the positive use of God’s gifts while also reducing the risk of their misuse/abuse?
Because of sin, creation doesn’t work the way God originally intended. Blessings are now mingled with futility, frustration, and decay (see Rom. 8:19-22). This reality means that, related to marijuana usage, a Christian should question not only the legality of its usage, but also the wisdom of its usage. Do the potential benefits of marijuana far outweigh the adverse side-effects of its usage? Might there be alternatives?
Is this gift of creation serving my body – or am I enslaved to this gift of creation?
To a fuller exposition of this question we now turn…
God Bought Your Body – to Serve Him (Not Weed)
There was a popular saying in First Century Corinth: “Food is meant for the stomach, and the stomach for food” (1 Cor. 6:13). Paraphrased, “God made the stuff of creation, including my natural appetites. Therefore, if I crave something, I should indulge my cravings, because that’s the reason God gave my body its appetites in the first place…”
In response to this thinking, the Apostle Paul wrote, “Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.” (1 Cor. 6:19-20).
Whereas the Corinthian Christians desired to treat their bodies as their own, Paul’s reminder is that Jesus purchased their bodies, along with their souls, in order that they would glorify him with their bodies. Just as with the Corinthians, God desires that we, and our children, use our bodies to know him as deeply as possible and make him known as widely as possible.
How do these principles inform our usage of God’s created gifts – specifically marijuana?
Paul’s thesis statement in 1 Corinthians 6:12 provides the answer: “’All things are lawful for me,’” but not all things are helpful. ‘All things are lawful for me,’ but I will not be dominated by anything.”
These powerful words simultaneously bind, free, and warn the Christian:
- Paul’s words bind the Christian: the believer’s calling is to glorify Jesus in the body, not to serve himself/herself with the body. Jesus’ agenda, rather than the believer’s personal preferences, becomes the focal point of life, and the governing principle of the body’s use.
- Paul’s words free the Christian:“All things are lawful…” Where Scripture is silent, neutral, or non-binding on a topic, the Christian is free to dream creatively about how to utilize it for the glory of Jesus.
- Paul’s words warn the Christian:“Not all things are helpful.” Gifts of creation stop helping us to serve Jesus and start hindering us from serving Jesus when they “dominate” us: when they divide or distract our loyalties from our ultimate authority, Jesus.
When it comes to gifts of creation – we err when we become servants of a particular gift of creation, rather than servants of Jesus who are aided in his purposes through the gift. This truth ought to caution Christians against the recreational use of marijuana – even in states where it may be legal or de-criminalized to do so. Consider the following statistics, cited in the aforementioned article by Allysia Finley:
- Marijuana is highly-addictive. About 30% of those who use cannabis have some degree of a use disorder (compared to only 13.5% of those who consume alcohol). Christians should understand that marijuana is highly addictive. Therefore, its use is highly likely to “dominate” the Christian in the exact way condemned by the Apostle Paul 1 Corinthians 6:12.
- Marijuana changes the brain. Both alcohol and nicotine are water-soluble and quickly metabolized by the body’s liver, kidneys, etc. While a person may misuse or abuse both substances, doing so will not significantly alter the makeup of his or her brain. THC – marijuana’s primary psychoactive compound – is different from nicotine or alcohol. Rather than being water-soluble, it is fat-soluble, and therefore is absorbed and retained in the fatty tissue which insulates the brain’s electrical activity. Madras notes that THC persists in the brain “for a while” and “promotes brain adaption.”
In Romans 12:1-2, Paul instructs his audience to be “Transformed by the renewal of [their] mind[s].” If THC – rather than the Holy Spirit – is what changes our brains, can we honestly think that we are not “dominated” in the ways that Paul warned against in 1 Corinthians 6:12?
The brain changes induced by marijuana usage aren’t merely invisible; they are often manifested in violent changes in our personalities and our disposition towards others. As Finley notes, “A large-scale study last year that examined health histories of some 6.9 million Danes between 1972 and 2021 estimated that up to 30% of young men’s schizophrenia diagnoses could have been prevented had they not become dependent on pot.”
If the careless recreational use of marijuana alters our God-given personalities past the point of usefulness to his mission, we rob God of his glory, and we rob others of the Kingdom service we were created to render towards them. Such split loyalties are, by definition, the very sort of domination that Paul warns against in 1 Corinthians 6:12.
Take an Easy Yoke (not an Easy Toke)
SAMHSA (The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration) cites that teens and young adults most often pursue recreational marijuana usage for at least one of two reasons:
- Community (i.e. peer pressure or wanting to fit in with friends)
- Coping (i.e. as a therapeutic release from anxiety, depression, etc.)
In other words, young people aren’t turning to marijuana to fill up their hours, but in hopes of finding functional salvation. They look it it to provide friendships, mental and spiritual release, or a moment’s respite through the numbness that comes in the high of an easy toke.
While it’s important to teach on the harmful impacts of marijuana usage, we have an opportunity to do more than caution our children against an easy toke. We have an opportunity to invite them to wear the easy yoke of Jesus (cf. Matthew 11:29) – who alone promises to provide what young people turn to weed to find: community and coping.
Community:
Christ was abandoned and betrayed in his suffering and in his death. Because he was lonely and forsaken, we never will be. Through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, we have companionship with Christ and other believers forever. Even in our faithlessness towards him, he will ever remain faithful towards us (2 Tim. 2:13).
Coping:
Isaiah 53:4 reminds us, “Surely he has borne our sorrows and carried our griefs…” In his living, suffering, and eventual death for us, Jesus took the anguish of our souls upon himself – so that, through his work on our behalf, he might give us lasting rest for our souls (Matt. 11:29). We look forward to that day when he wipes every tear away from our eyes, forever (Rev. 21:4). Until then, we trust that because of Jesus, Heaven breaks into earth here and now, providing a better comfort than marijuana ever could.
Parents, whether you need to hear this word for yourself, or for the sake of someone you know and love, receive the invitation to the easy yoke of Jesus.
“Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” (Matthew 11:28-30 ESV).
We hope you’ll join us for our Rooted 2024 Conference in Dallas, TX.
