Weed, Pot, Maryjane
Is it a sin to smoke, or is it not?
Throughout 2014, this is something I really thought about. Reason being, I began to hear of Christians leaders throughout America in the church smoking weed not even batting an eye. It was totally okay—it was a way to relax. I have never smoked, and it was super easy for me to judge and automatically say, no that is wrong, especially if you’re a leader in the church. If you want to relax, then relax in the Word or the presence of God. Not in the world.
However, just in this last year on the race, I’ve encountered so many different views on weed within my squad. It got me thinking. Maybe I have been too closed-minded to this subject. I began to wonder if I had really studied this like I should have. I concluded two things:
1. I was mainly basing my judgment on what I was raised to believe. (Yes, I studied the bible what the bible said but I still went into it with the judgment of how I was raised to believe.)
2. I never took this to Jesus! What?!?! How could I have not done one of the most important thing!? I never once really took this to Jesus and asked him about this topic. So I decided I would not make a judgment anymore about right or wrong. I wanted to take it to Jesus with a completely open, unbiased mind. This is the story of Jesus, a blunt, and me.
In my mind, I have a secret place by the river where I like to meet Jesus. While there one night, Jesus and I were staring at the stars and enjoying each other’s company. This is normal. We do this a lot. But I wanted an answer to this weed question I’d been struggling with, so I decided to ask him to smoke a blunt with me.
Yes, I asked Jesus to smoke a blunt with me!
He told me no.
I told him if he wouldn’t smoke, I did not want to either. Then, I asked him if it would be wrong for me to smoke it. He looked at me and smiled. He told me deep down that I already knew the answer. I smiled back and said, “Yeah, I would feel convicted for sure if I did.” Then came the question that got to me. “Is my presence here not enough for you?” he asked. WOW, that is a question all right. This is something after talking to Jesus that stayed on my mind. I decided that for me, I do not need weed to relax from a hard day. I need Jesus. I already struggle with finding other things in the world to make me happy after a hard day instead of Jesus, like food!
So is weed a sin or not a sin?
I do know that we should obey our government’s laws unless the law is against God. So what if weed is legal? How do we decide for ourselves when the law doesn’t forbid us from it? That is something I want to challenge you to truly go to Jesus about. After all, He’s the all-knowing holder of truth! It’s hard for me to put a right or wrong label on something without explicit scripture or a burning bush from the Lord. And maybe you don’t agree with my conclusion. For me personally, after my conversation with Jesus, I feel like yes, it would be wrong for me to smoke for recreation. Jesus and his presence are more than enough. I say all of this to say, whatever your thoughts or your questions are on the subject, take them to Jesus. Sit with him and talk! Ask him what his thoughts are. And know, the presence of Jesus is enough.
