Marijuana is an interesting topic. I drive around Portland quite a bit and it seems like every hipster coffee shop is followed by two marijuana shops titled with bad puns. The ubiquity of it all makes it something that cannot be ignored. That is why I am so thankful for Todd Miles’ book Cannabis and the Christian.
He acknowledges that legality is no longer the foundation of a Christian’s decision about marijuana (at least in states like Oregon) and that we need a robust framework to aid in our decision making. I found two parts of the book quite helpful. One in thinking about marijuana in particular and the second in thinking about life in general.
The first is that the use of cannabis (THC in particular) should be viewed through the lens of its affects. If the goal is some level of intoxication that is a state that is prohibited by Scripture. Though the word cannabis/marijuana is not mentioned in Scripture the choice to be drunk by something is.
18 And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit, 19 addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart, 20 giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, 21 submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ. Eph 5:18–21.
There are many things in the created world that we can use to intoxicate ourselves, alcohol and marijuana being just two of them, but the posture of the Christian in the world should be something different: a filling by the Spirit that drives the way we interact with each other and with God.
As an aside, I enjoyed Miles’ working through the medical literature and mentioning that it would be great to get more studies completed to see with more certainty what medical benefits cannabis can have (THC or CBD). There is potential for benefits that are not intoxication.
Secondly, Miles has a section of discipleship questions (he repeats them from Greg Allison) that he suggests are helpful in evaluating our decisions about marijuana but even more so all of our actions. It is not as though there are only a few difficult decisions in life and the rest of our actions can be on auto pilot. I found the questions to be a helpful check for myself in evaluating even my most mundane actions. Here they are.
Am I fully persuaded that this activity is right?
Can I practice this activity as “for the Lord”?
Can I engage this activity without being a stumbling block to my brothers and sisters in Christ?
Does the activity promote righteousness, peace, and joy?
Does the activity edify others?
Is this practice profitable?
Does this activity enslave me?
Does this activity bring glory to God?
Is the Holy Spirit guiding me into this activity?
Working through these questions has had me stopping certain innocuous activities: mindless browsing on my computer or phone for example. And working to engage things that will be helpful for me and others: starting my morning at home so I can hug and snuggle my boys before I leave for the rest of the work day.
All of our decisions help put together a life that shapes us and forms us. We are either setting up a life that is forming us in the way of the Spirit or it is not.