The Christian And Recreational Marijuana

Now that it’s legal, can Christians use pot?

Podcast (listen-to-this-article-here): Play in new window | Download (Duration: 10:54 — 20.0MB)

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Android | RSS

The Bible doesn’t directly address the issue of recreational marijuana. In fact, the word marijuana doesn’t appear in Scripture. Thus, we must draw our conclusions about it from the general moral teachings of God’s Word. Christians must use prayer, discernment, godly teachers and the leading of the Holy Spirit.

Image by Chuck Grimmett via flicker

I live in California, a state which has voted to legalize recreational marijuana. Several other states have done the same (despite that federal law prohibits it so far). So, if this is not an issue in your location, it might become one soon.

So how should Christians respond?

Here are 4 biblical issues to consider regarding recreational marijuana:

1. Legalization doesn’t mean God approves.

God commands that we obey the laws of the land (see Romans 13:1-7). But that doesn’t mean that we must take part in an activity, such as recreational marijuana.

There are many examples of this:

• The Holocaust in WWII Germany

• Legalized prostitution, such as in the state of Nevada and in the Netherlands

• Abortion

• Gay marriage

God’s desire is that we obey the government, but if it commands or allows us to do something immoral, then another law kicks in: “We must obey God rather than men.” (Acts 5:29)

2. Scripture warns about the recreational use of drugs.

Like so many things in this world, drugs can be used for great good, but also great harm:

• Dynamite is used to mine diamonds, but also as a weapon to kill and maim

• The internet can educate and inspire, but also to create hate, lust, gossip, bullying, anger, fear, violence and so on.

• Education is used to inform and create a better society, but also to brainwash and mislead.

Currently I am on a daily regimen of medications to help my heart. One of them keeps my blood pressure in check which could save me from a stroke or heart attack. I’m grateful!

Please note that some have a chemical imbalance in their brains. Medications can be helpful in assisting with these imbalances.

But the Bible warns about the immoral use of drugs. GotQuestions.org says:

Use of intoxicants has also been closely associated with witchcraft and sorcery in the Bible. The Greek word pharmakeia, translated “sorcery,” literally means “to administer drugs.” As with our English word “drugs,” the context must be considered to determine the meaning. In biblical times, pagans incorporated the use of drugs to induce altered states of consciousness, during which they supposedly communed with their gods. This would be similar to the modern-day practice of voodoo. The apostles strongly condemned the use of such drugs to produce altered mind states because the drugs lowered inhibitions and self-control. (Galatians 5:19-21; Revelation 9:20-21; 21:8; 22:15).

So just because something is legal doesn’t mean it is permissible in God’s eyes.

3. Our “highs” should come from the Holy Spirit, not alcohol, marijuana or other drugs.

Scripture gives a clear juxtaposition in Ephesians 5:18; “Don’t be drunk with wine, because that will ruin your life. Instead, be filled with the Holy Spirit.” (NLT)

While the drug in this verse is alcohol, the same principle applies to other recreational drugs, including recreational marijuana.

Why do people get drunk or get high on a drug like recreational marijuana? Perhaps to feel better, to forget their problems, to numb their thinking, to achieve an altered state of mind.

But this verse says we can (and should) be doing something similar through the filling of God’s Holy Spirit. It’s saying:

Don’t be drunk through alcohol, be drunk through the Holy Spirit.Don’t get high on drugs like marijuana, get high on the Holy Spirit.

If this sounds odd or sacrilegious, don’t blame me—it’s Scripture!

Additionally, a spiritual high is a different kind of high:

It’s not temporary—it last 24/7, not just when you’ve had a joint, fix, or drink.It’s not a forgetting of your problems so much as peace during trials.

When Christian friends say they “need a drink” it says to me they might be reaching for the wrong kind of high. The same would be true of recreational marijuana.

4. Loving our neighbor means maintaining clear-mindedness.

When Jesus was asked “what is the greatest commandment,” he answered:

“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.”(Matthew 22:37-40 ESV)

The USA is a very individualistic society. Our heroes are usually rugged “Lone Rangers” who “buck the system” and “do their own thing.”

Frankly, other societies have a more biblical approach. They ask not just “what’s in it for me,” but also “how will my activities impact my family, friends and neighbors?”

What’s the point? We must ask “even if it is legal recreational marijuana, what impact will my being high on weed have on others?”

Here are some specific examples:

• Will using pot be a good role model for my children, coworkers, neighbors, and so on?

• Am I likely to think more clearly with or without getting high?

• Will smoking pot help or hinder my testimony for Christ?

• Might I endanger lives by getting high?

Since society is just beginning to experiment with legalized recreational marijuana, examples are less abundant. But examples of the tragedies from the drug of alcohol abound:

• Recently the senior pastor of one of the biggest churches in the USA had to resign because of alcoholism.

• Every year thousands of innocent people are killed or maimed by drunk drivers.

• Tens of thousands of children are traumatized by alcoholic parents.

It might be tempting to say, “Recreational marijuana is my own personal decision.” But it isn’t.

The Bible is clear, and even graphic, about the need to focus on concern for our neighbor. Jesus said, “But if you cause one of these little ones who trusts in me to fall into sin, it would be better for you to be thrown into the sea with a large millstone hung around your neck.” (Mark 9:42 NLT)

IMPORTANT NOTE: This article is a biblical Christian perspective on recreational marijuana. If you are not yet a follower of Jesus and would like to find out more, click HERE. Jesus wants to give you a clean conscience and assurance of eternal salvation!

For more help with a biblical approach to medications, alcohol, drugs and other ethical issues see these resources on my website:

• Podcast: Can a Christian take medications to help brain chemistry?

• Shot to Death in our Former Home–Another Alcohol Tragedy

• Podcast: What does the Bible say about euthanasia?

• Podcast: Should Christians gamble?

• The Abortion Issue Made Easy

NOTE: Facebook is random. Email is reliable. Subscribe via email and you won’t miss any of my articles, podcasts or videos. You’ll also get my eBook: 10 Prayers to Unlock Heaven on Earth

5 Reasons A Little Porn Will NOT Help Your Marriage

Be careful of this subtle trap.

Podcast (listen-to-this-article-here): Play in new window | Download (Duration: 9:23 — 17.2MB)

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Android | RSS

A little porn will NOT help your marriage. Recently I was talking with a pastor of a church plant. He said that one of the issues people in his church are struggling with is porn. That’s no surprise. But what’s surprising is that one of their major excuses is it enhances their marital sex life.

Perhaps you’ve wondered the same thing. Maybe you’ve given it a try and it seemed to spice things up a bit. If you think so, be careful, the thrill won’t last long. You’ve bought into a false bill of goods.

Here are 5 reasons porn will NOT help your marriage:

1. Porn is a cheap substitute for God’s gift.

Sex is not dirty! Hugh Hefner didn’t invent it—God invented sex. He even commanded it, within marriage. The Bible speaks clearly that a husband and wife are not to withhold themselves from each other:

“A wife belongs to her husband instead of to herself, and a husband belongs to his wife instead of to himself. So don’t refuse sex to each other, unless you agree not to have sex for a little while, in order to spend time in prayer. Then Satan won’t be able to tempt you because of your lack of self-control.” (1 Corinthians 7:4-5 CEV)

My mom almost never talked about sexual issues. But soon after Carolyn and I were married, one day out-of-the-blue she asked me, “How do you like having a bed buddy?” I was taken back, but happy that she affirmed “the marriage bed” just as Scripture does (Hebrews 13:4).

“Let your fountain be blessed, and rejoice in the wife of your youth, a lovely deer, a graceful doe. Let her breasts fill you at all times with delight; be intoxicated always in her love.” (Proverbs 5:18-19 ESV)

So God is not against sex—He’s 100% FOR it, in the right context.

Pornography, and especially porn with masturbation, is a cheap substitute for God’s ideal.

Don’t settle for cheap substitutes. Enjoy the gift God has given for marriage!

2. Porn is a form of cheating, even if your spouse agrees to it.

Due to the sensitive nature of sexual relations, I haven’t asked people. But here’s my hunch: if you’re getting turned on by pornography, you’re not getting gratification from your spouse.

Marriage vows promise that our sexual joy will come from our one-and-only—right? If you don’t think so, just ask your spouse if he/she wants you to get satisfaction elsewhere. (If the answer is “yes” you’re in trouble.)

So even if your spouse allows some amount of porn, the question is what’s that doing to your mind? Where’s your sexual fulfillment coming from—your spouse or someone else? If someone else, what’s that likely to do to your marriage?

“Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life.” (Proverbs 4:23 NLT)

3. Creepy Comparison.

No one’s body is a “10.” Those only exist in edited videos, images and fantasies.

Who wants to compete with non-existent fantasized perfection? Yet that is what results with the creepy comparison against daydreamed images in pornography.

And if we compare, who will we want? And who will we be unsatisfied with? A little porn will NOT help your marriage—it will cause discontent.

Jesus spoke in the strongest of terms about lust: “So if your eye–even your good eye–causes you to lust, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell.” (Matthew 5:29 NLT)

4. The addictive nature of porn.

Porn gives people a buzz, like a drug. Of course, the intensity of the thrill depends on the person. That buzz can be addictive for some. And like many addictions, there’s a law of diminishing returns. What was enough for a thrill yesterday, isn’t enough today. It takes something more. The final results can be tragic.

I have a friend who’s been married for many years. A few years ago the police showed up at his beautiful home unannounced. They put him under arrest and took him to the police station in handcuffs. What had happened? They’d traced child pornography to his computer. His wife was completely unaware. They’re both Christians. It was a horrible experience!

After trial, financial penalties, doing the time and recovery therapy, he’s doing better now. But what a tragedy, that could have been avoided.

What had happened? The addictive nature of porn. A little pornography can be a gateway to the worst perversion. Don’t even get started! Porn will NOT help your marriage.

“Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour.” (1 Peter 5:8 NLT)

5. Guilt.

The final reason porn will NOT help your marriage is the guilt that naturally comes with it.

“But I say, anyone who even looks at a woman with lust has already committed adultery with her in his heart.” (Matthew 5:28 NLT)

Does that verse make you feel guilty? If so, good! You’re supposed to feel guilty when you lust after someone other than your one-and-only.

But Jesus didn’t want us to feel guilty just so we’d beat ourselves us. He wanted us to be motivated to turn from lust and be guilt-free. Why was Jesus so strict? To spare you all kinds of pain: guilt, shame, adultery, divorce, illegal porn, child molestation, etc.

Maybe you don’t feel guilty. If so, I’d suggest that you are living in denial and potentially headed for a train wreck of misery.

Worse yet, if you’re not a born again Christian, you’re lost for eternity. To learn how to be saved, please see my salvation page.

Conclusion: A little porn will NOT help your marriage . In fact, it is dangerous, even if your spouse consents, even in a porn saturated society, even if you don’t feel much guilt. Be careful! Flee!

For more biblical advice and insight on how to deal with cope with pornography, check out my articles and podcasts:

• 5 Ways to Porn-proof Your Mind and Marriage

• The Toilet Bowl is Swirling — Keep the Lid Closed!

• Podcast: How can I overcome pornography?

NOTE: Facebook is random. Email is reliable. Subscribe via email and you won’t miss any of my articles, podcasts or videos. You’ll also get my eBook: 10 Prayers to Unlock Heaven on Earth

Why Did God Invent Marriage?

"Christianity Questions and Answers" podcast CQA 054

Podcast (listen-to-this-article-here): Play in new window | Download (Duration: 24:01 — 22.0MB)

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Android | RSS

This podcast is being released on Carolyn’s and my 37th anniversary (August 4, 2016). It seemed like a good time to answer the question “Why did God invent marriage?”

There is no question that marriage is in disarray for many. This is much more than a generation ago:

Divorce laws were loosened leading to many more broken homes.The “sexual revolution” made people think that sexual gratification is more important than lifelong committed love.Our Supreme Court has redefined marriage in contradiction to what God intended.

Wow, we need to get back to the basics: why did God invent marriage in the first place?

Here are some of the verses used in this recording:

“Then the LORD God said, ‘It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper who is just right for him.’” (Genesis 2:18 NLT)

“So I say to those who aren’t married and to widows—it’s better to stay unmarried, just as I am. But if they can’t control themselves, they should go ahead and marry. It’s better to marry than to burn with lust.” (1 Corinthians 7:8-9 NLT)

“And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it.” (Genesis 1:28a KJV)

For more help in understanding “why did God invent marriage” and how to make marriage work, see these resources on this website:

• Five Keys to Stay Happily Married for 34 Years Five

• MORE Keys to Stay Happily Married for 34 Years

• 5 Ways to Porn-proof Your Mind and Marriage

• The Toilet Bowl is Swirling – Keep the Lid Closed!

• 4 Simple Yet Powerful Ways to Protect Your Marriage

• Podcast: Is divorce OK if things just aren’t working?

• Podcast: Is interracial marriage biblical?

To learn more about this “Christianity Questions and Answers” podcast and how to submit your questions, click HERE. 

To receive Jesus Christ as your Savior and Lord click HERE.

To develop your relationship with God, get my free eBook “10 Prayers to Unlock Heaven on Earth” click HERE.

You can leave a comment below.

Help Spread the Word! If you found this episode helpful, we’d love for you to rate the podcast in iTunes. This will help get this podcast in front of more people who need biblical guidance. Also, please Click here to leave a review – thanks so much for your help!