Even since moving down to the Eastern shore, one problem that I have encountered here is the drug use. 

 

This epidemic is more than just cold debating on public policy. Rather, it is personal and it involves people. Every name that makes the obituary is someone’s son or daughter, and we as Christians are called not to sit our our hands and do nothing, but to think clearly about the issues and take action that is in lockstep with the Kingdom of God, because that is what our King commands us to do. This action is to be grounded in Gospel theology, the Christian worldview which contains pillars: Creation, Fall, Redemption, and Glorification. It is these four “strainers” (three for this article) that we must run this and other issues through in order to develop a robust theology in which to ground our action.

 

This is the Christian story: A) Creation-In the beginning God made all things and made them to be good. B) We turned our backs on Him, severed the relationship we once had, and now all things are broken, C) Jesus Christ offers a way through Him in His Kingdom to be freed from sin and healed of brokenness. D) One day, He will return to complete the work He started and the work we are called to continue.

 

We these pillars in place, let us return to the issue of drug use. This is hard for me to explore as truthfully, I have never used illegal drugs and have never even smoked a cigarette, so all I can do is speculate and observe, but here are some noticeable facets I have picked up during my life and time in youth ministry. Drug uses (many but not all) want 1) A sense of community, 2) some activity that feels good and 3) do not want to be bored. I have no doubt there are other reasons also but for this blog, I wish to focus on these three and tell the story of God’s kingdom so that whoever reads this has a core that binds it all together and a sturdy foundation upon which to build.

 

A) Creation-1) God created all things to be good. Just like God knew that “it is not good that man should be alone,” He knows we are social creatures that need to have community with one another and community is a gift he gave us. 2) God has no problem us feeling good, for joy and happiness and laughter are also good gifts from Him, but He wants us to find these things within a personal relationship with Him, and instead we look for it elsewhere, and 3) God created each of us to have a purpose; there is no such thing as a purposeless human being and although there should be times of rest, when we walk with Him daily in our lives there should be no room for boredom

 

B) Fall-1) We live lives alone and isolated and we want to belong to something or some group no matter the cost. Often when people are introduced to drugs, it is not the drugs that draw them, it is the sense of friendship and community they find within the group of users. We look to belong, but it is based on destructive forces and activities. 2) We also look for things that only give us temporary pleasure by living on the motto “we only life once” yet we fill the heart’s desire for communion with God and each other with things that only give us temporary pleasure like sex, money, or in this case, drugs. G.K. Chesterton once had a quote summing this up: “He who knocks on the door of a brothel is looking for God.” 3) Ever since the Fall, sloth and laziness have always been pitfalls for people, and we lose the value found in hard work done with a purpose which leads to boredom and doing anything to entertain ourselves.

 

C) Redemption-1) Through accepting Jesus as Savior and bowing the knee to the King daily, we enter into His kingdom, a community of believers, the family of God. When we act as a body in obedience to the head, then we show the world both love and truth, essential for community. 2) Working and worshiping, loving and serving God in whatever work or employment you have is where true joy is to be found, not fleeting and temporary pleasure, but deep abiding joy. 3) Belonging to Christ’s kingdom give one a living, vital, dynamic, pulsating yet tranquil relationship with God and others that never leaves one bored or dull. Whether it is acts of service, prayer, worship, fellowship, anything , “whatever you do, do to the glory of God”

 

St. Augustine once had a saying, “The heart is restless until it finds its rest in You, Lord” Many people turn to drug use to find community, pleasure, and purpose. Within the Kingdom of God, we find true community, pure joy, and solid purpose.