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Whiskey bottles, and brand new cars
Oak tree you're in my way
There's too much coke and too much smoke
Look what's going on inside you
Ooooh that smell
Can't you smell that smell
Ooooh that smell
The smell of death surrounds you
Angel of darkness is upon you
Stuck a needle in your arm
So take another toke, have a blow for your nose
One more drink fool, will drown you
Ooooh that smell
Can't you smell that smell
Ooooh that smell
The smell of death surrounds you
Now they call you Prince Charming
Can't speak a word when you're full of 'ludes
Say you'll be all right come tomorrow
But tomorrow might not be here for you
(Excerpt from "That Smell" by Lynyrd Skynyrd - written by Allen Collins
& Ronnie VanZant)
The Bible clearly prohibits the abuse of alcohol, but what does it
have to say about drugs. We'll look at these topics separately.
Alcohol
Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be
filled with the Spirit. (Eph 5:18)
Wine is a mocker and beer a brawler; whoever is led astray by them is
not wise. (Prov 20:1)
So then, let us not be like others, who are asleep, but let us be
alert and self-controlled. For those who sleep, sleep at night, and
those who get drunk, get drunk at night. But since we belong to the day,
let us be self-controlled, putting on faith and love as a breastplate,
and the hope of salvation as a helmet. (1Thess 5:6-8)
You can check out a topical Bible for several dozen additional verses
addressing the abuse of alcohol, all consistent with the above.
Drugs
While we can easily see that the Scriptures explicitly prohibits the
abuse of alcohol, we don't find any command that says "Thou shalt not
smoke pot" or "Abstain from snorting cocaine". I
think we should be cautious when venturing beyond the literal meaning of
scripture, however in this case,
we'll find the Bible strongly implies this prohibition in several ways.
First, if we look at the nature of the direct commands (the infallible
"do" and "do not"), the first thing we notice is that they are based
upon the character of God, so we can ask ourselves if our actions are
consistent with God's revelation of Himself thru the scriptures and thru
His Son (Heb 1:1-2). Next, we see that the commands are not
exhaustive, but paradigmatic, that is, they set a classical standard
utilizing an example. Much like our own government's laws, it's
not practical to address every possible scenario that might come up.
We sometimes refer to this Bible interpretation principle as the
"pattern of meaning". For
instance, in Matthew 12, when the religious leaders condemn Jesus for
healing a man on the Sabbath, Jesus replies "If any of you has a
sheep and it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will you not take hold of
it and lift it out? How much more valuable is a man than a sheep!
Therefore it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath" (v11-12).
Now, Jesus declares that it's permissible to lift a sheep out of a pit
on the Sabbath, but what if it was a goat or a donkey? Would we
be forbidden to lend a hand? It is clear that Jesus is
referring to "doing good on the Sabbath" and using the sheep as an
example. So, we see that, although the Biblical commands (law) are
limited in their letter (wording), they are actually very comprehensive
in spirit. The books of Leviticus and Deuteronomy are
loaded with additional examples.
Let's look at the spiritual meaning of one of the alcohol related
verses.
Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be
filled with the Spirit (Eph 5:18). Now, since Paul only
mentions wine here, does this mean it's acceptable for us to get drunk
on whiskey? Of course not. The word "filled" means
"controlled by", so the prohibition is against the effect of the
alcohol, and the "pattern of meaning" is that a person should be under the control of the Holy
Spirit rather than the substance.
When we take drugs, we lose self control, a fruit of the
Spirit according to Galatians 5:22 (see also 1Thess 5:6-8, 2Tim 1:7,
Titus 2:1, 1Peter 1:13 & 4:7, and 2Peter 1:5-6). Studies have
found that the average person will reach the legal blood alcohol content
limit by consuming two beers in one hour. The impairment effect of
smoking one marijuana joint is about the same as drinking three beers
and a snort of cocaine equivalent to seven beers. Additional studies
have found that, while the mind-altering effects of alcohol are usually
temporary, the mind-altering traits of most drugs can permanently
change a person's thinking, personality and beliefs. So, if
the Bible prohibits abuse of alcohol due to a temporary loss of
self-control, how much more for mind-altering drugs.
Don't you know that you yourselves are God's temple and that God's
Spirit lives in you? If anyone destroys God's temple, God will destroy
him; for God's temple is sacred, and you are that temple (1 Cor
3:16-17).
Finally, we should mention that the Bible strongly condemns sorcery and
witchcraft in both the Old and New Testaments (Lev 19:6, Dt 18:10, 2Kings 17:17, Mic 5:12, Gal 5:20, 2Tim 3:13, Rev 9:21, 21:8,
22:15 etc). If you are wondering what this has to do with drugs,
the Greek word which is translated sorcery or witchcraft is pharmakia,
from which we derive the English word "pharmacy". According to
W.E. Vine's Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words, the word "pharmakia"
refers to "a sorcerer, especially one who uses drugs, potions, spells,
enchantments." Vine goes on to state that "In sorcery, the use of
drugs, whether simple or potent, was generally accompanied by
incantations and appeals to occult powers, with the provision of various
charms, amulets, etc, professedly designed to keep the applicant or
patient from the attention and power of demons, but actually to impress
the applicant with the mysterious resources and powers of the sorcerer."
A Way Out
I don't want to close this article without writing a few words for those
who are addicted to drugs or alcohol. I'm not a trained counselor
and have not abused alcohol or drugs, only by the Grace of God, not by
any merit on my part, so I won't pretend to identify with your exact struggles.
I do have many friends and relatives who have been caught up in this
culture, so I've learned a lot from talking with them. The first thing
I've noticed is the addict's feeling that they are empty, useless,
unloved and unneeded. This is simply not true. You were
"fearfully and wonderfully made" by God, and you are worth the
sacrifice of His only Son for your redemption. When you're feeling
down, remember who you are in Christ. If you're not a Christian,
or not sure of your eternal destiny, please check out our
How to Know for Sure
that You're Going to Heaven. You don't have to wait until you
kick the habit, you can do this now (Rom 5:8). The struggle with
alcohol and drugs has many things in common with endeavoring to overcome
other habits and strongholds. Our number one ally is prayer.
We must pray about everything. Next, we should surround ourselves with caring
Christian friends who can encourage and lovingly hold us accountable
for our actions. At some point, we may also need to seek advice
from a good Christian counselor. Remember that Christians aren't
perfect, just forgiven, and many have gone thru similar circumstances,
and with the help of God, emerged victorious.
A Biblical Formula for Obedience to God's Word
I think
all of us had some sort of stronghold, addition or idol which is
contrary to God's Word, so let's conclude by looking at a few answers in
scripture. First, we know that if we become and remain obedient to
the Word of God (easier said than done), all our strongholds will
disappear... but, how do we obtain obedience? The Apostle Paul states that
obedience comes from faith. Through him (Jesus) and for
his name's sake, we received grace and apostleship to call people from
among all the Gentiles to the obedience that comes from faith
(Rom 1:5). OK, so where do we get this faith? Again, Paul
has the answer. Consequently, faith comes from hearing the
message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ (Rom
10:17). Therefore, we receive faith as a gift from God (Eph 2:8), by
prayerfully reading the word of God, which leads to obedience (doing
what the Word says).
Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive
yourselves. Do what it says. Anyone who listens to
the word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his
face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and
immediately forgets what he looks like. But the man who looks
intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues to do
this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it--he will be
blessed in what he does (James 1:22-25).
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