Can Christians Smoke Weed? | S2E11

Can Christians smoke weed?

What does the Bible actually say about cannabis, idolatry, sobriety, and Christian freedom? In this episode of Dear God, Lettuce Pray podcast, Santana takes an honest, Scripture-first look at one of the questions believers keep debating but rarely slow down enough to study well.

This is a Bible study for people who want to understand what Scripture gives us for thinking about cannabis use, being sober-minded, and so much more, and whether a created thing can quietly take on a place in our hearts that belongs to God.

This episode also makes rooms for people who are still learning. It is for believers who do not want to build doctrine from stereotypes, social media testimonies, or fear, but want to let God search their heart, reveal the fruit of their choices, and lead them in truth.

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Transcript

Santana 0:00

Hello, and welcome to another episode of the Dear God Let Us Pray podcast. I am your host, Santana, and before we close out this month, uh, the month of April with the infamous 420, um, I wanted to do an episode specifically about one thing. Like, there are some Bible questions people ask because they are trying to be rebellious, but then there are questions people ask because they're honestly just trying to understand, and today's episode is one of those. So the question of the hour can Christians smoke weed? And I already know what happens when you ask it out loud. Somebody's gonna quote, be sober-minded before you even finish the sentence. Somebody else is going to say, God made plants, as if that settles everything. And somebody is going to bring up that one cousin who smoked every day, did absolutely nothing, and somehow still kept saying, Oh, I'm about to get my life together, while their life had been about to get together for years. And listen, we know that person. So I understand why some people hear cannabis and immediately think laziness, avoidance, addiction, fogginess, rebellion, or somebody melting into the couch with snacks. But a serial type is not, it's not a Bible study. Like, if we are going to talk about God and cannabis, we cannot build doctrine from somebody's cousin, somebody's testimony reel, or somebody's fear. Like, we have to go straight to scripture. And scripture does not give us uh a neat little cannabis slogan. What it gives us is a way to discern, a way to examine what we do with created things, what we let shape us, what we depend on, and what kind of fruit is coming from our choices. So this conversation cannot stop at, oh, God made the plant. And it cannot stop at one verse thrown around like a weapon. What matters is whether this remains something that's submitted to God. And before we go any further now, I want to be very clear that I'm not doing this episode from a place of I've already gotten this figured out. So now let me just tell everybody else what to do. Like, that's not that's not what this is. I'm still on a journey of learning too. Like, I'm still studying and praying, and I'm still asking God to search my own heart, my own motives, and even my own relationship with this topic. So I'm not sharing this as uh like a final verdict, I'm just sharing it as someone who wants to be biblically honest and stay open to correction, too. Alright, so let's start where the Bible starts. Genesis 129 says, Behold, I have given you every plant-yielding seed that is on the face of all the earth. That matters because it tells us plants are part of God's created world. But creation by itself does not settle the whole conversation here. Like, for example, we have grapes. Grapes are created by God, and yet drunkenness is still condemned. Food is created by God, and gluttony is still warned against. So when people say, well, cannabis is natural, I mean, sure, that that may be true, but natural does not automatically mean wise, holy, or submitted to God. What has to be examined is what cannabis is doing in a person's life, what is it producing, and whether it can be held before God with open hands. Because a created thing can remain a gift, and a created thing can also take on a place it was never meant to have. Like other scholars and translations identify it as like sweet cane or calamus. So if we are being biblically, so if we are being biblically responsible, we cannot teach cannabis was in the anointing oil like it's a settled fact. There is debate, but there's no clear cannabis verse you can build the whole conversation on. And even if someone could prove cannabis was part of an ancient oil, that still would not automatically answer the modern question of you know, smoking, recreational use, dependence, wisdom, or idolatry. So, no, we are not forcing the Bible to say more than it says. All right, so let's talk about the verse everybody grabs. 1 Peter 5:8 says, be sober-minded, be watchful. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. People use this verse like a one-line cannabis policy. But Peter is talking about spiritual alertness and self-control and watchfulness. So, no, this is not a like a lazy proof text for every weed conversation. This is not even a lazy proof text for every alcohol conversation. However, at the same time, it's not irrelevant either. Like, if cannabis makes a person spiritually dull, careless, unwatchful, irresponsible, resistant to conviction, then this verse absolutely matters. That is where the conversation gets real. Like, can a person remain spiritually alert, self-controlled, prayerful, and obedient while using cannabis? Like, that is the serious question. And for this topic, one of the strongest verses may actually be 1 Corinthians 6 12. Paul says, 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. Now that verse gets under the skin because Paul is not only asking what is technically allowed, he is asking what has power over you. Like something can be enjoyable and still start ruling your routine. Something can help you relax and still become the thing you refuse to surrender. So now you are dealing with questions like these. Can I stop? Can I pause? Can I fast from it? Can I hear God say not today and obey? Can I be corrected without getting defensive? And can I tell the truth about what this is doing in me? Because Christian freedom does not mean I get to be mastered by whatever I enjoy. Now, this is where the conversation moves beyond smoke or don't smoke. In scripture, idolatry is more than just, you know, bowing down to statues. Like idolatry can happen when something created starts receiving what belongs to the creator. That includes trust, dependence, comfort, obedience, and emotional authority. Exodus 23 says, You shall not have no other gods before me. Cannabis becomes idolatrous when it starts functioning like a refuge or a ruler or a comforter in a way that belongs to God. So that can sound like, you know, oh, I can't face the day without this, or I can't calm down without this. I know God is asking me to pause, but I refuse. Or I'll let God correct every area of my life except this one. Now, this is where the issue moves from use to rule, and that is why idolatry is beyond the scope of just frequency. It's about authority, it's about what this is replacing, what is it excusing, and whether you could surrender it if God asked. Now, there are people who stopped smoking cannabis and grew closer to God. Now, this is real. Like some people really were dependent or numbing, avoiding, or being convicted by God to stop. And if God told them to stop, that was obedience. But another person's conviction does not automatically become everybody's command. Romans 14 helps here. Romans 14 5 says, each one should be fully convinced in his own mind. And Romans 14 23 says, For whatever does not proceed from faith is sin. That means conscious matters. So if you cannot do something in faith before God, then you should not do it. And if someone else surrenders something because God convicted them, that should not be mocked neither. Like the point is humility. Reminds us that the body belongs to God. Paul says, Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God, and so glorify God in your body? First Corinthians 6, 19 through 20. So when we talk about cannabis, we also need to think honestly about the body. Is it affecting my judgment? Is it affecting my discipline, my responsibilities, my health, my ability to be present? And then Jesus gives us another major test in Matthew 7:16. You will recognize them by their fruit. So now we are looking at fruit. Does this produce self-control, peace, honesty, presence, and responsibility? Or does it produce avoidance and laziness and secrecy and excuses, defensiveness, and even poor stewardship? Because the fruit, the fruit tells you more than the stereotype ever could. And then we have anxiety and depression and other mental health challenges. Now, this is a part that needs care. First and foremost, I am not a healthcare or medical professional, nor do I pretend to be. But I also understand that some people are not using cannabis because they want to party. Like some people are trying to manage anxiety or depression. Some people have tried medication and did not like how it affected them. That deserves compassion as well. But compassion does not remove the need for discernment. Because relief can be a gift, and relief can also become a hiding place. Like there's a real difference between uh something helping you and something becoming your rescue in a way that belongs to God. So this has to be examined honestly. Like, is it actually helping? Is it masking? Is it becoming the first place I run? Is it something I can talk to God about honestly? And and let me say this clearly: this is not telling anyone to stop prescribed medication or replace medical care with cannabis. This is just about prayerful examination. So I think it's important that everyone, everyone see, you know, simply where they stand, like a simple discernment test. So, like, if you are trying to figure out where you stand, please do not start with panic or shame. Don't start with panic or shame because those are not uh emotions or thoughts or feelings from God. Instead, start with surrender. Ask God, can you interrupt this? Can you correct this? Can you ask me to pause? Can you show me whether this is relief, routine, dependence, escape, or idolatry? Because if God cannot touch it, then it already has too much power. Psalm 139, 23, verse 24 says, Search me, O God, and know my heart, try me and know my thoughts, and and see if there be any grievous way in me and lead me in the way everlasting. That is the prayer this conversation needs. Not, oh God, agree with me, not you know, oh big G, help me win this argument, but instead to search me. So where does that leave us? The Bible does not give a simple cannabis slogan. Instead, it gives us a discipleship framework. Like, cannabis is not automatically an idol because someone consumes it, and it's not automatically wise just because it's natural. What has to be examined is whether it is submitted to God, whether it is producing good fruit, whether it is shaping our conscience, and whether we could surrender it if he asked. And before we close, I want to say this again. I'm not sharing this because I think I have reached some perfect conclusion. I'm sharing it because I believe this is the kind of question we should bring into the light of scripture, and I am bringing my own heart there too. Like I'm still learning and studying, I'm still praying, I'm still asking God to reveal anything in me that needs correction, surrender, or deeper honesty. So if you are on that journey too, this episode is not me talking at you. It is me sitting with you in the word and asking God to search us both. Maybe your answer is that God already told you to stop. And if so, obey him. Maybe your answer is that you need to pause and examine this, then pause and examine it. Maybe your answer is that you have judged people unfairly because you only knew one kind of cannabis story. Then repent of that. But whatever you do, please, please do not let TikTok disciple your conscience. Please don't let the Instagram videos and the Facebook reels disciple your conscience. Do not let church gossip disciple your conscience either. Do not let somebody's cousin disciple your conscience, but instead open the word. Look at the fruit and tell the truth and ask God to search you. Because the goal is not to win the weed argument, the goal is just to belong fully to God. Before we close out today's episode, I do want to end in prayer. Lord Father God, thank you for giving us a word that is deeper than our heart takes. God, I thank you for not leaving us to figure out wisdom through fear, through shame, stereotypes, or social media arguments, God. Search us. Search our hearts, search our minds and our bodies. Show us where we are free, show us where we are still defensive, and teach us how to receive created things with wisdom, humility, and self-control. And if anything in our lives has become a comforter, a refuge, a master, or an idol, God, give us the grace to surrender it. We want you more than we want relief, God. We want truth more than we want permission. And God, I just thank you and I love you, and continue to give us the strength and the knowledge that we need to press for. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Alright, so I hope this gave you something to study. I hope this gave you something to pray through and something to take back to God for yourself because you know what I'm gonna say. I don't want you to sit here and take my word for it. I encourage you to go and seek the word for yourself. Go read the scriptures and sit with the questions and let God search the places you may have already decided were off limits, whether intentionally or unintentionally. Again, thank you for joining me on the Dear God Let Us Pray podcast. I am your lovely host, Santana, and as always, spread kindness. And I love you, but I know someone who loves you even more than that. Alright, until next time.