The Weed Among the Wheat
by Pastor Chandler Wiley
INTRODUCTION
In Matthew’s gospel Jesus says, “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field, but while his men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat and went away” (Matthew 13:24-25). God is currently at work in Christ sowing good seed in this world, seed that will grow up as wheat, to bring about the light of His Kingdom in the world. However, the enemy is also sowing seeds of destruction, described here as weeds.
When I lived in Arizona the state legalized a different kind of weed. Not the metaphorical weed that the enemy sows, but the weed that you can wrap up into a joint and smoke. Suddenly, my street was filled, daily, and all day long, with the distinct scent of pot smoke. Suddenly, too, people in our little church body were asking me about smoking the stuff. I heard a bunch of different arguments and questions: It’s a plant, right? God made all plants and gave them all to us, calling them all good. Right? So, why would it be wrong to enjoy the grass God gifted to us? People drink fruit of the vine in the Bible, why would it be wrong to vape the fruit of the herb? You drink coffee, pastor. What’s the difference between getting buzzed on some dope and downing a cup of joe?
I seriously heard all of these inquiries and many more; I found myself ministering to several proud pot heads.
With states around Idaho fully supporting recreational marijuana and with people in our state seeking to bring such support within our borders, we might want to think biblically about the issue. We are the wheat, the servants of Christ and outposts of His Kingdom on earth. How do we, the wheat, respond to the weed slowly coming among us?
This is a brief article addressing the simple question: Should Christians smoke pot recreationally? Thus, note, in this article I am not endeavoring to engage in discussions around the use of medical marijuana. When we talk of recreational pot use we are talking about “cannabis used for enjoyment rather than for health benefits.”[1] Recreational marijuana use is strictly “for the high caused by the psychoactive compound THC, which can produce feelings of happiness, relaxation and sleepiness.”[2]
A BIBLICAL FRAMEWORK
The first thing we need to be clear about is that the Scriptures do not speak directly about marijuana. You won’t find the word in the Old or New Testaments (even though some advocates try to find a parallel between the tree of life and the tree of Mary Jane…for real). The eleventh commandment is not, “Thou shall not smoke pot.” That commandment is not in Scripture anywhere.
Since there is no explicit reference to the issue, we need to work harder, using a full-canon hermeneutic to gain wisdom regarding the issue. What do I mean? When we are speaking of ethical matters that the Scriptures do not address directly we need to scan the scope of Scripture to find wisdom regarding the issue at hand.
The way forward, then, is to find wisdom from what Scripture does clearly say to us. With a Word-informed mind we develop a theistic worldview - a way to understand all things according to God’s wisdom and understanding. Since the Scriptures are “God’s words written,” when the Word of God invades our hearts and minds and shapes our understanding of the world around us and our imaginations we begin to think God’s thoughts after Him.
RELATIVE PRINCIPLES
David West writes, “Even when the Bible does not specifically speak to an issue, there are biblical principles that can be relied upon to make an informed moral judgment.”[3] What relative principles should we consider when making ethical and moral decisions regarding weed? What key pieces of divine wisdom can draw our minds up toward God’s? Surely, there are many. However, for the sake of being brief, I will quickly draw attention to two, which, I believe, will go a long way in helping us make God-shaped decisions.
Principle one: in Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians we learn that addiction is not in step with following Jesus.
“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. (1 Corinthians 6:12)
In the context of 1 Corinthians 6, Paul has been talking about having a pure sexual ethic. Paul commands the Christians not to go to prostitutes, to refuse to commit adultery, and more. He goes on from verse 12 to explain a thorough theology of the body and how the body is united to Jesus. Therefore, since Jesus is the Lord of His people, Christ should be the master of the body.
In this context, Paul points to the great freedom that is in Christ Jesus. Many things are not expressly forbidden (like pot). But, that liberty does not mean that everything is beneficial. And, furthermore, nothing should gain mastery of the Christian except for the Lord Jesus Christ. Paul refused to be dominated by anything, good, bad, or neutral because he was dominated by Jesus.
While there is more to say here, the principle we are concerned with currently is the truth that we should not be addicted to anything. Nothing should be allowed to wield mastery over us and threaten the lordship of Jesus in our lives.
Principle two: as addiction is out of step with following Jesus so is intoxication. The University of Notre Dame defines intoxication as “the point at which alcohol depresses the central nervous system so that mood and physical and mental abilities are noticeably changed.”[4] Throughout Scripture, being drunk leads to unholy action (Gen. 9:21; 1 Sam. 25:36; 1 Kings 16:6) and being intoxicated is forbidden (Deut. 21:20; Eph. 5:18). Further, “both Paul and Peter list drunkenness among a list of rather heinous sins (Rom. 13:13; 1 Cor. 5:11; Gal. 5:19-21; and 1 Pet. 4:3).”[5] Todd Miles unpacks why drunkenness is forbidden saying that drunkenness is wrong because “it impairs cognitive ability, judgment, and physical ability.”[6]
NOW APPLIED TO RECREATIONAL MARIJUANA
There are more principles to consider when making a decision about if a Christian should light up a joint and experience the herb high. However, the two that we have looked at - addiction and intoxication - are, I believe, enough.
First, then, let’s ask: is marijuana addictive? According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse around 30% of marijuana users develop what they call “marijuana use disorder.”[7] In their article, “Is Marijuana Addictive,” the institute goes on to explain marijuana use disorder as “dependence—in which a person feels withdrawal symptoms when not taking the drug.” Dependence sounds a lot like the mastery that Paul refused to allow in his life. While some might argue that the risk of addiction is low, it cannot be argued that addiction to marijuana is impossible.
Second, we know that intoxication is forbidden in Scripture. Nothing should lead us in our judgment and actions but the Spirit of God. With that in mind, we need to ask, does marijuana cause intoxication? After investigating the way the cannabis plant affects the brain and body, Miles summarizes his findings by saying taking THC into the body “creates a host of short-term effects, including diminished problem-solving skills duel to interference with frontal-executive brain function (which enables performance of tasks requiring complex thinking), increased heart rate, feelings of anxiety, panic and paranoia, altered pain sensitivity, an altered sense of the passing of time and an overall distorted perception of reality.”[8] All of this describes a type of intoxication equivalent to what happens when one indulges in too much alcohol. The University of Rochester Medical Center explains, “Marijuana is the most commonly used mind-altering drug in the U.S.”[9]
We know that intoxication is not in step with the way of Jesus because it impairs physical abilities, impairs cognitive reasoning, and confuses judgment. Medical marijuana aside, the only reason to use recreational marijuana is to become “stoned” or intoxicated. “It seems,” Miles writes, “there is no good or logically consistent reason to smoke pot recreationally other than to get high.”[10]
CONCLUSIONS AND MORE
Because marijuana has the risk of addiction, which is growing as the potency of THC in the plant grows, and because marijuana impairs judgment by causing a high, recreational marijuana use would be misaligned with the call of God on the Christian’s life. Nothing should master the follower of Christ but Christ Himself. Nothing should guide the follower of Jesus in decision making but the Spirit of God dwelling in the believer - not the drug brought into the body through the use of weed.
You might have many unaddressed questions. Questions like: Why do the Scriptures promote the drinking of wine, which can cause intoxication, but recreational pot is out for a believer? What if a doctor tells me marijuana can help treat chronic health issues or even help heal a disease in my body?
Admittedly, this article leaves many questions unanswered and a lot of information out. For example, what are the health risks of marijuana use? How does marijuana impact adolescents? How do we engage in conversations about the drug with non-believers and those Christians who hold a different conclusion about recreational use?
To those who want more information, who want to engage the topic even further, and find reasonable answers to the unanswered questions that might be lingering, I recommend reading Todd Miles’ book, Cannabis and the Christian, which you can find online and on the book table at Christ the Redeemer. Miles includes a helpful appendix called, “Questions and Answers for Pastors and Parents.”
Together, let’s always strive to think biblically as we make ethical and moral decisions. We must, with a biblically shaped mind, seek to imitate Christ and walk in the way that the Spirit would lead us - not in the way the world or a drug would lead us.