Speed Kills

The title of this post comes from an anti-drug campaign of many years ago. In this article I do not intend to limit my comments to the drug known as Speed, but to all forms of narcotics, including alcohol. Drug abuse and alcoholism do not just cause pain in families, it destroys families. This problem is even more widespread than that of teenage promiscuity, although very often they go hand in hand. Isn't it interesting how our attitudes change from one class of assault on our families to the next? What I mean by that is that most families, including Christian families, would be much more horrified to discover their teenager was about to become a mother or father, than to learn that same teenager had been out drinking with his or her friends the night before. "Well, at least they got home safely!" we might reason as we breathed a sigh of relief. That suggests that, on some level at least, we have allowed substance abuse to achieve a certain level of acceptability and, because of that, we have paid, and will continue to pay, a heavy and painful price.

The first step in alleviating pain is eliminating the cause of the pain. Get rid of the drugs, and by that I do not mean hide them before the parents or the cops find them. I mean stop using! And then, do not leave God out of the equation. Remember, we can only serve one master (Matthew 6:24). Jesus made that clear. We understand, of course, that our One Master must be Jesus Himself. We cannot serve Christ and any other master. The apostle Paul made it clear that we are servants of the master we serve, not claim to serve (Romans 6:16). What does it mean to have a master? According to this passage, having a master is obeying someone or something. That means if you obey someone or something (in this case, illicit drugs or alcohol) other than Jesus, you are not His no matter what church roll bears your name. Drugs and alcohol are very much like masters in that they control us if we let them. So, we must decide who our master is.

As in every other article in this series, there is pain here. When a person allows himself (or herself) to be ruled by drugs, he (or she) chooses to despise or hate God, even though may be an unconscious decision. A real consequence of this kind of behavior is the loss of one's soul if he (or she) does not repent. This tears at a Christian family because no one likes to contemplate the loss of a loved one's soul. There is also the consequence of other, weaker, or more immature members of the family being led away. Children look up to their parents, even if their parents are engaged in sinful behavior. Younger siblings idolize older siblings and want "to have fun, too." All of these situations are painful for a family to endure. There are some other consequences, too. One of the characteristics of intoxication (root word - "toxic" - poison) is the lowering of inhibitions. In other words, when you are drunk, you do not mind doing some things that ordinarily decency and decorum would stop you from doing. Sometimes a drunk or "high" person will yell and scream at family members, even committing violence against them. Sometimes other sins are committed that ordinarily would not have been, e.g. adultery, robbery, or murder. Very often, regardless of the secondary activity of the drunk, the family is driven apart and destroyed. In any case, when such a demanding master as drugs enters a family, there is pain.

What can you do if this happens to your family? Remember Matthew 11:28. This may be the most common example of when Christians leave God because of a problem. People stop coming to church because they have this problem or are ashamed that their spouse or children have this problem. Any Christian in this predicament needs God more now than ever. Do not shut Him out!! Some other practical suggestions include what we have already seen of the responsibility of parents to act toward their children who are caught in this trap with love and understanding, but without acceptance of their sin (Ephesians 6:4). Wives must still love and obey their husbands in the Lord, rather than nagging until the husband straightens up; that doesn't usually happen anyway with that tactic (1 Peter 3:1). Husbands must still love their wives and give moral and spiritual leadership, rather than just giving up and leaving (Ephesians 5:25).

I would like to spend just a moment dealing with the question, "Is it a sickness?" Some want to justify their actions by saying they cannot help what they do because this is a sickness and, therefore, not a sin. As I understand it, science has shown that there are physiological changes in a person who, for example, is an alcoholic. Science has also shown that children of alcoholics have a proclivity to drink themselves, meaning that if they were to begin drinking it would be easier for them to become alcoholics themselves. However, none of this changes the fact that abuse of alcohol or any other drug is sin. The physical changes one's body endures (and their children's bodies endure) are proof of God's visiting the iniquities of the fathers on their children unto the third and fourth generations (Exodus 20:5; 34:7; Numbers 14:18; Deuteronomy 5:9). These passages do not teach that children are guilty of their fathers' sins, but that the consequences of the fathers' sins are often visited upon their children.

The Bible is very clear about how to avoid this problem (e.g. Proverbs 23:31-35; Galatians 5:20 - the word translated "witchcraft" or "sorcery" is the Greek word from which we get "pharmaceuticals," i.e. drugs). However, if it happens in your family, the Bible also tells us where to go for help and that is to God Himself. Abusing one's body with narcotics and alcohol hurts the family, but it hurts the body, too. There are real, physical consequences to this kind of lifestyle, some of which may not be reparable. Get the help you need! Professional, medical help may be necessary. Seek it if it is! However, through all the pain, do not give up on God. He still says, "Come to Me...I will give you rest..." because He loves you and I remind you because I do, too.

Donnie Bates