Dear Reader,

I grew up in a generation that developed the philosophy, “If it feels good, do it!”. The slogan encompassed about every imaginable area of life, but one of the greater aspects was the increased use of alcohol and drugs as a means of escaping the reality of our world, and entering into a world of fantasy and illusion. Many are the stories that tell of bad trips, freak-outs, and hallucinations, that resulted in the deaths of otherwise healthy, sound people. What does God think about taking drugs or using alcohol?

The Bible tells us, and our lives verify the fact, that we live in a world that is affected by forces that are invisible to our physical eye. Some are inherent in the laws of nature, such as gravity and centrifugal force, but others work through other, spiritual avenues. In one sense, they all share one common point, and that is the point of control. While things like gravity and centrifugal force have no personality or will, they still exert a control over us. However, other forces do have personality and will, and they do work to control us in one way or another. We can categorize these spiritual forces into two major groups. One is the force of evil, personified by Satan, and exerted by him through demons, etc. The other is the force of righteousness, or good, or holiness, led by God, and exerted by Him through angels, etc. In creating us, God made us with the power of choice, the power to choose which force we will yield to, and He never violates that right to choose. In all of life, we are choosing to yield to the control of the forces of evil, or to yield to the forces of righteousness. As we yield control to either of these forces, they gain mastery over us. When we use substances that can cause addiction, we are yielding to the control that accompanies that substance, and in many cases, to the point where we no longer are rational, nor can we function properly. These substances have become our master, and yielding to them will eventually destroy us.

God also tells us in the Bible that our bodies are to be the temples of His Holy Spirit, and when we destroy our bodies through substance abuse, we will suffer His displeasure (see I Corinthians 3:16, 17). Medical science has proven that many of the things we consume in the nature of drugs and alcohol actually cause physical deterioration to the human body. I’d rather keep my body whole as long as I can. How about you?!!

Focus on the Family at: www.family.org

Thanks for reading,
Pastor Ritchey