Yesterday I wrote a blog in which I did some thinking out loud about Christians, marijuana, and other drugs.

I overlooked something that is important and need to post it; I also want to crystallize a thought I tried to express yesterday.

Ready?

For Christians, we must consider two things as we have this conversation…

1) What does the state say? (Not to be confused with “What does the fox say?”)

As followers of Jesus we are expected to live by the rules of the land. (Check out Romans 13:1-6)

This means that if, after prayerful consideration, you determine that smoking marijuana is okay for you but the state in which you live says it is illegal to smoke pot, you have one of two options:

• Don’t smoke it.
• Move.

Christians are called to be exemplary citizens. Quite obviously we don’t all hit that standard… but it is what our Leader, Jesus, has called us to, so we must amend our lives and decisions in an effort to live with integrity in our state.

The second question to be considered is…

2) Is this substance replacing God’s role in my life?

Honestly we should ask this question about everything we partake in.

God wants to be the one who addresses our fear, encourages our hearts, brings us joy, etc.

If we are looking to marijuana, alcohol, food, etc. to fill those roles then we are missing God’s desire for us.

Too often we miss what God wants to do for/in us because we turn to other things to do for us what God has said He would like to and is capable of doing.

Lots of people who are “anti-pot” take prescription meds to address the same issues as the guy who smokes pot. Lots of Christians who wouldn’t put their hand on a doobie won’t take their hand out of the Frito Lay’s bag. BTW, the bible is clear that obesity due to a lack of self-control is a sin. (check out this blog post from Perry Noble).

God has set up structures to help us experience friendship, participate in adventure, and know the elation of transformative decisions… all this in addition to having a happy heart, peace when you’re alone, and a sense of fulfillment when you think about your life.

So at this point I’m not ready to say one way or the other, but I am prepared to say to every Christian on this matter: Are you doing with another substance what the pot smoker is doing with marijuana?