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DRUG OBSESSION (Idolatry) Is of the Flesh

 

Like any other earthly obsession, drug obsession becomes a form of idolatry wherein the person essentially worships drugs, illegal or legal. I personally experienced this curious practice growing up as a lost boy in the drug culture of the late ’70s.

Before we get into that, let’s start by looking at the New Testament’s list of works of the flesh:

The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; 20 idolatry and witchcraft (pharmakeia); hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions 21 and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.

Galatians 5:19-21

While this isn’t an exhaustive list, it’s an effective all-around description of what the flesh — the sinful nature — produces (see Proverbs 6:16-19 for another list).

You’ll note in verse 20 that idolatry is a work of the flesh, which refers to the adoration or glorification of something above God. Then witchcraft is listed. The original Greek word for ‘witchcraft’ is pharmakeia (far-mak-EYE-ah), which literally means “the use of medicine, drugs or spells.” Pharmakeia is where we get the English words pharmacy and pharmaceuticals. It refers to an obsession with drugs. Since witches or sorcerers in the 1st Century used drugs in their black magic, most English translations usually render pharmakeia as “witchcraft” or “sorcery,” but it could also be translated as “drug use,” which is how it’s rendered in GOD’S WORD® Translation. Since the moderate use of a drug for legitimate reasons isn’t a work of the flesh, a better translation would be “drug obsession,” which refers to the idolatry of drugs, whether illegal or legal. This relates to a preoccupation with buying/using drugs as well as trafficking.

“Drug obsession” is the more applicable translation  of pharmakeia since it’s unlikely that people reading this know a single witch or sorcerer who uses drugs in their incantations. I’m not saying they don’t exist, but they’re extremely rare in developed nations.

My Experience With the “Drug Culture” and the Curious Drug Worship Thereof

The household I grew up in was relatively dysfunctional because my mother had a severe mental illness, but she was a loving Christian with a pure heart. Yet she didn’t teach us much of anything about Christianity or make us go to assembly (although I went with her on rare occasions); she wasn’t a Bible reader and just lived the life of a simple, loving Christian woman, but our household wasn’t a Christian home by any stretch. My father was an angry agnostic and atrocious verbal abuser, although he was a great provider and made sure the kids had plenty of clothes and toys, including go-carts, mini-bikes and motorcycles. While I had no relationship with him and he constantly cursed me, I’m thankful he regularly took the family on outings (hiking, swimming, skiing, camping, movies, etc.) and annual long-distance vacations. Despite his scary fits of rage, my mother brought warmth to the home and the siblings got along and were generally close.

In 1976 I was 12 years-old and took pride in my health and athleticism (I won trophies for running and long jump). By the time I was 4-5 months shy of 13 all my friends were regular smokers. I refused to start because I didn’t want to harm my body for no ostensible reason beyond looking ‘cool.’

Then my sister’s boyfriend, who was 17, encouraged me to try marijuana. I declined because I didn’t want to pollute my lungs and mar my health & athleticism. But he insisted that pot didn’t harm the body like smoking cigarettes. So I gave in. This was the gateway into drugs & drink for me and I lived the “party” lifestyle for the next several years.

The main goal of the gang of youths I regularly hanged out with was to “party” and “get f***ed up.” This was our purpose for living, generally speaking, and it was my introduction to life on this Earth as a 13-15 year-old teenager. Naturally, I just assumed that this was the way life was — you lived to get high or drunk or both. It was the purpose of life (!).

Friends would wear shirts or belt buckles with the marijuana leaf. We would use the iconic leaf in our crude art and graffiti. Our message was obvious: “We belong to the drug culture.” I didn’t know it then, but I know it now: We figuratively worshipped drugs and the misuse of foreign substances in general, which would include alcohol (for those not in the know, alcohol is ethanol, a psychoactive drug). Drugs were our ‘god.’

This is pharmakeia — drug worship.

Of course not everyone involved in the drug culture back then (or now) was guilty of drug obsession. Some people just drank and/or smoked pot, etc. at parties/gatherings and that was pretty much the extent of their involvement. But all of my immediate friends lived for “partying.” We did it before school, in school and after school; and then all summer.

So how did I escape the drug culture and obsession thereof? My involvement lasted close to 4 years from the time I was almost 13 to almost 17. While I didn’t turn to God and become a Christian until I was 20 years-old in 1984, the LORD allowed several misfortunes in my life over the course of those four years in order to progressively humble me and wake me up.

For instance, when I was 13 I got hit by a car while walking to school by a showoff motorhead, an older student; I landed on my head and nearly died from a head concussion. When I was 15 I fell off a 36’ cliff and ended up in a body cast for several months (yes, I said body cast); I spent my 16th birthday bedridden in that cast (shown above) and, once it was removed, I was on crutches for a few months (also shown). At one point I was suspended for smoking pot in gym class while, on another, I got expelled for possession of narcotics when a teacher happened to catch me with pills in my hand that another student was letting me check out. Since our group had a no-narc policy, I refused to say where I got the drugs from and so took the fall. I personally never trafficked drugs, although a couple of my friends did (whom I was no longer close to when they started doing it).

These mishaps allowed me to break away from the influence of my gang and provided periods of time to be sober. I was able to think clearly for the first time as a semi-adult and found myself enjoying it. I did a lot of reflection and read books. I questioned everything. Slowly, I started to see the error in the thinking of my drug-obsessed subculture. For instance, we would call anyone who wasn’t involved in drugs a “redneck.” It dawned on me that, if this were actually true, then great people like George Washington and Abraham Lincoln must’ve also been “rednecks” (rolling my eyes). In short, I started to see the absurdity of it all.

When I would reenter the gang after these breaks I engaged in drug activity less and less. For instance, if someone passed me a joint I would say “No thanks” and would get flak for doing so, which surprised me. I thought the counterculture was all about personal liberty? Apparently not, I discovered. It was more about being a socially manipulated sheep and developing negative habits/addictions. Why were we so obsessed with getting high/drunk anyway? What’s so bad about living in reality? By the time I was almost 17 years-old drugs were no longer an obsessive daily activity for me, although I would occasionally go to parties on weekends and, then, only drink, with just a couple exceptions.

In short, I was no longer a drug worshipper. I was no longer in bondage to pharmakeia. I was now on the road to finding the truth and powerfully found the Lord a few years later (John 14:6).

Legal Drugs

It’s important to point out that obsession with legal drugs — medications — is just as much pharmakeia. Just because a doctor prescribes the drug doesn’t make it necessary or right. I’m not talking about the moderate usage of a drug for legitimate reasons, like treating diabetes. I’m talking about taking myriad drugs (“meds”) on a regular basis and blowing the time & moolah to do so. The doctor keeps prescribing more and more “medication” because physicians are often linked to Big Pharma and the medical field is a business, which needs customers to exist and thrive. They’ll even prescribe drugs for kids just for being kids, like Ritalin, aka methylphenidate. Sometimes there’s a side effect to the previous drug the doctor prescribed and so the next one supposedly counteracts it. On and on it goes. They’re pill happy. It’s pharmakeia, obsession with drugs, aka drug idolatry.

Twenty years before the “drug culture” began to emerge, healing evangelist Aimee Semple McPherson was in the habit of taking sedatives, including the barbiturate Seconal, to help with winding down when she prematurely died at the age of 53 in 1944. Just think, without this “medication,” we could’ve had this mighty woman of God for another 25 years or more!

The potent film Requiem for a Dream effectively illustrates the negative consequences of drug addiction, whether illegal or legal. But, be forewarned, it’s rated R and not a fun experience whatsoever, although it’s certainly artistic.

What About the Occasional Recreational Use of a Drug (Which Includes Alcohol)?

Despite what lifeless legalists might say, the Bible plainly says: “There’s a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance” (Ecclesiastes 3:4). So some measure of recreation is healthy (it’s when we do things to excess that it can become an “idol” in our lives). For instance, in the New Testament we see Christ at a wedding celebration turning water into fine wine (John 2:1-11), not to mention the father of the prodigal son — a type of Father God — excitedly throwing a party for his repentant son (Luke 15:11-32) (you can read some great insights on this powerful story here). Meanwhile the LORD permitted the Israelites to partake of “wine and strong drink” at certain festivals (Deuteronomy 14:26), but this obviously wasn’t an excuse to be an out-of-control drunkard in light of other clear passages (Proverbs 20:1, Proverbs 23:20, Ephesians 5:18, Romans 13:13, 1 Corinthians 5:11 & 1 Corinthians 6:9-11). Remember the hermeneutical rule: Scripture interprets Scripture.

Whether it’s okay or not for a believer to use a drug — including alcohol — for recreational purposes on a particular occasion depends on several things:

  • Is the drug legal in the location? The Bible exhorts believers to obey the laws of the land; not complying with these laws tends to ruin your witness for Christ.
  • Can the believer engage in this activity while remaining in a state of self-control, which is a fruit of the Spirit? See Galatians 5:22-23 and 1 Peter 4:7. In other words, out-of-control excess must be avoided.
  • If a believer’s recreational usage of the drug in question — including alcohol — is likely to cause another believer to fall, then they shouldn’t do it. Paul said “It is better not to eat meat or drink wine or to do anything else that will cause your brother or sister to fall. So whatever you believe about these things keep between yourself and God. Blessed is the one who does not condemn himself by what he approves” (Romans 14:21-22). The basis for this instruction is love for others — selfless concern for the welfare of other people — which corresponds to the second greatest command (Matthew 22:39). This is the New Covenant law of Christ, which is the law of love. Living according to this simple law fulfills all the moral laws of the Old Testament.
  • Where is the believer at on his/her spiritual journey? What is his/her calling in the kingdom of God? What has the Holy Spirit specifically instructed him/her on this matter? Only the individual believer can answer these questions. Christ said: “From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked” (Luke 12:48).
  • Expounding on that previous point, one minister friend told me he occasionally drinks a glass of wine on his front porch while communing with the LORD, praying about this or that. Another minister said he was on a ski vacation in Colorado and sat in the Jacuzzi alone while drinking a glass of wine; he proceeded to have a prayer session where he interceded & conducted spiritual warfare, but the Spirit later rebuked him for conducting serious prayer while drinking wine (alcohol). In neither case were they getting drunk, but rather praying while enjoying “the fruit of the vine” (Psalm 104:14-15 & Mark 14:25). The first minister had zero qualms about doing this while the latter said God told him to cease doing it. Who’s right and who’s wrong? They’re both right because they were both convinced about the Lord’s leading in their lives on this matter at that particular time. Paul put it like this: “One person considers one day more sacred than another; another considers every day alike. Each of them should be fully convinced in their own mind” (Romans 14:5). I carefully worded the statement “the Lord’s leading in their lives on this matter at that particular time” because — who knows? — the Spirit might one day instruct the minister differently.

I debated on whether or not to include this final section because this kind of honest material will naturally draw flak from legalists or immature believers who tend to see everything as black and white. But Fountain of Life is not for stiff-necked legalists or immature believers intent on staying ignorant; nor is it for Christians who blindly submit to authoritarian pastors who tell them what to do and not do, what to believe and not believe. This teaching ministry is for people who want to grow in their relationship with the Lord and increase their understanding of the Holy Scriptures, even when it comes to “controversial” topics. I say this with zero arrogance, but rather as a humble servant of the LORD.


Related Topics:

Spirituality — How to be Spirit-Controlled Rather than Flesh-Ruled

Insights on Moderation

Can Christians Drink Alcoholic Beverages?

The Issue of Eating Meat Sacrificed to Idols

How to keep BALANCED in every area of Life

Libertinism — What’s Wrong with It and How to Walk FREE

Legalism — Understanding its Many Forms

Berean Spirit — What is it? How Do You Cultivate It?

(Pseudo) Science is the “New God” and Dubious Scientists are the “New Gods”

Insights on Moderation

To walk in moderation concerning anything means to have a spirit of self-control that avoids excess or extremes.

The problem with excess is that the person loses sight of self-control and becomes obsessed with the thing in question, which wastes his/her time & energy that could be spent on more productive pursuits. I’m not talking about things that apply to one’s occupation since your work pays the bills, but even that can become a problem if you become a workaholic. I’m talking about things like music, movies, computer games, Facebook, message boards, food, certain beverages, golf, boating/fishing, TV, sports-watching, lawn maintenance, etc.

Things like this can become a “weight” that hinders your life & productivity, as noted in Hebrews 12:1. How do you prevent this from happening?

It all comes down to:

  1. Learning to guard your heart as the wellspring of life (Proverbs 4:23 & Matthew 12:34).
  2. Maintaining moderation in all you do, that is, a spirit of self-control that avoids excess or extremes.

For instance, Christ didn’t completely abstain from alcohol (Matthew 11:19) and Paul instructed Timothy to drink a little wine apparently for health reasons (1 Timothy 5:23). Moreover, the LORD permitted the Israelites to drink fermented beverages at certain celebrations (Deuteronomy 14:26). Yet the Bible also instructs “Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery” (Ephesians 5:18), not to mention candidly points out the negatives of drunkard-ness (Proverbs 20:1). So the problem isn’t the alcoholic beverage itself, but rather the individual who loses a proper sense of moderation.

Proverbs 25:28 stresses the importance of self-control: “Like a city whose walls are broken through is a person who lacks self-control.” Back when this verse was written cities required walls for defense against enemy invasion. The comparison is obvious: The individual who loses sight of moderation is like a defenseless city. The enemy can come in and misdirect his/her life anytime.

If I ever sense myself becoming obsessed with something and it’s hindering me spiritually I make a clean break from it for a determined season. As I write this I’m fasting from something for 40 days and it broke the ‘spell’ that I discerned was cooling my fire for the Lord and my ministry assignment. My enthusiasm almost immediately returned and I finished my project in 21 days!

New Testament Advice on Moderation

Paul brought up the topic of personal moderation twice in his first letter to the believers at Corinth. Here’s the first time:

“Everything is permissible for me” – but not everything is beneficial. “Everything is permissible for me” – but I will not be mastered by anything.

1 Corinthians 6:12

Paul was quoting a popular phrase of some believers at the Corinth church: “Everything is permissible for me.” This is the attitude of libertines in a nutshell. “I can do anything I want” is what they believe. Now Paul wasn’t against freedom since he preached liberty to these very same believers when he said “the Lord is the Spirit and where the Spirit of the Lord is there is freedom” (2 Corinthians 3:17). Yet Paul adds some wise framework for freedom here: Whilst people have the power of volition and can essentially do whatever they want if they decide to do it, Paul points out that “not everything is beneficial.” This is an obvious fact, of course,  but he had to stress it because not everyone in Corinth realized it. Since following the deceitful desires of the sin nature is never beneficial, anything sinful is off-limits to the believer. Why? Because it’s not beneficial; it’s destructive.

Say, for example, if a married man meets a pretty woman at work and entertains the idea of committing adultery with her, would this be beneficial to his life or destructive? Even if he’s not a believer, it’s a destructive course of action because it would hurt his wife and could harm his marriage, possibly even destroy it, not to mention the domino effect of hurting his children and losing the respect of the community. No sane person respects unfaithfulness, not even unbelievers.

Paul quotes the popular phase again in the second half of the verse and this time adds “but I will not be mastered by anything.” Here Paul isn’t just talking about the corrupt desires of the flesh but rather anything neutral that has the capacity to master him and put him in bondage. Today, we see people mastered by many destructive addictions, like alcohol, drugs and various forms of sexual immorality. But millions are just as mastered by things that aren’t considered bad, like food, a particular beverage, computer games, watching or playing sports, TV, “meds,” forms of recreation and even church activities. Of course none of these things are bad in and of themselves, but they can become bad if a person is mastered by them — becomes obsessed with them — in which case they become idols. (I should emphasize that something like playing sports — e.g. tennis, golf, pool, chess, basketball or football — can’t become an idol if one uses it to make a living; in other words, the sport is the person’s occupation).

We don’t see many people in modern Western Civilization worshiping literal idols, but people can become so addicted to certain things that it becomes a form of idolatry because idolatry is the worship – the adoration, glorification – of something above God. Christians are free, but we have to be careful to guard our hearts as the wellspring of life so that nothing takes us away from our devotion to the Lord (Proverbs 4:23).

I recently discerned that I was mastered by strong French roasted Arabic coffee: I got in the habit of drinking two K-Cups of this coffee in the morning and two in the afternoon. It got to the point where I didn’t even get a ‘perk’ from the heavy caffeine intake. What I eventually did get was a feeling of a vice gripping my heart. Now, I’m not on any medications because there are too many side effects with drugs, so I looked for natural ways to remedy the problem and too much caffeine was listed as a contributor.

Needless to say I immediately stopped and switched to decaf and an occasional regular coffee. Now when I drink a cup of caffeinated coffee I feel the perk. More importantly, the tightness around my heart ceased. I’m just giving an example of how easily we can become mastered by something considered normal, plus the negative repercussions thereof. I don’t want to be mastered by anything, especially something that’s going to hamper my health. Furthermore, I want my true ‘perk’ to originate from the Fountain of Life (Psalm 36:9), not anything of this world.

Paul brings up the popular phrase a second time shortly later in his letter:

“Everything is permissible” – but not everything is beneficial. “Everything is permissible” – but not everything is constructive. 24 Nobody should seek his own good, but the good of others.

1 Corinthians 10:23-24

Paul again points out the obvious: Everything is permissible because we have been blessed with freewill and therefore have the power of decision. We have the power to choose to act or not act on any impulse, whether good or bad; but Paul stresses, once again, that not everything is beneficial. This is a repeat denouncement of engaging the deceitful desires of the flesh, which are never beneficial. Christians are free in the Lord but the appetites of the sinful nature are off-limits because they are destructive. If there’s any doubt Paul cleared it up with his statement to the Roman believers: “What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? By no means!” (Romans 6:15).

He repeats the phrase again, “everything is permissible” and this time adds “but not everything is constructive.” This obviously refers to neutral things. The believer is free to do the neutral activity, but we have to ask ourselves if it is constructive. He then adds that “Nobody should seek his own good, but the good of others.” For instance, if you’re blowing so much time & energy on something that it significantly subtracts from your relationship with your spouse or kids, it becomes a negative thing.

Teachers and preachers can share these principles until they’re blue in the face but some believers will never “get it” because they lack wisdom, which is the ability to distinguish difference. Anyone who wants wisdom must seek it as if it were a treasure; and God will give it to him/her (James 1:5). This is an encouragement to acquire wisdom for moderation concerning any thing that can become a weight in your life and prevent you from fulfilling your call or responsibilities.

The bottom line is this: Believers have freedom in Christ but it’s not freedom to embrace the flesh, but rather freedom from the bondages of the flesh. We have true freedom in Christ, but we must be careful to not allow anything to master us, and we must use wisdom – common sense – in what we choose to do – and how much time we spend with it – since not everything is constructive, for ourselves or others.


Related Topics:

How to keep BALANCED in every area of Life

How to Obtain Your Desires

Your Thoughts RUN Your Life!

Legalism — Understanding its Many Forms

Spirituality — How to be Spirit-Controlled Rather than Flesh-Ruled

Libertinism — What’s Wrong with It and How to Walk FREE

Spiritual Growth is Like Climbing a Mountain

Drug Obsession (Idolatry) is of the Flesh

Can a Certain Style of ART be Evil?