My dad was an alcoholic (all add sober now for many many years and I'm super proud of him and his recovery). When I was in my teens I was so anti-alcohol it was ridiculous. So when I opened the fridge at this house of one of the youth leaders and found alcoholic beverages I was shocked and confused. So like a teen, I invited all my friends over and we drank it all. Got totally shit faced and did things we shouldn't. Just kidding. We didn't. I left it there. But was confused. Alcohol and addiction had/was wreaking havoc and a youth leader had the same stuff in their fridge. It left me thinking. Not casting judgement at all. Because this person had been a father figure to me and looked out for me.
I remember my buddy Marc and I were on a youth trip in Canada. We scored some sweet cigars. We also got busted and three Adult male youth leaders called us into a private room. We thought we were in for it. And they basically told us they were disappointed (but not really) that we didn't buy them any.
I was starting to see the picture more clearly.
Alcohol, when consumed legally, is not the worst thing. Cigars, when purchased legally, are not the worst thing. I'd be willing to bet they all had pre-marital sex too. FYI, this is totally a guess and I have no idea. But...they were 2 for 2 in all the other things we were told not to do. As I aged I realized that lots of people in the church drank alcohol. That lots of them smoked cigars, pipes and even cigarettes on occasion.
What's my point? What are you getting at Jon? I'm asking for transparency. Don't hide things. If you make a decision to do something, don't be shy about why you do it. Explain the decision making process. The pro's and con's of the decision.
Let's talk marijuana. I don't know shit about marijuana. Supposedly it's a drug that has some great medicinal purposes. And there is some arguments that it's not much different than alcohol. FYI...Alcohol can produce some horrible situations. Don't try to negate the negative effects of alcohol, I will destroy any argument you make. But that doesn't mean it can't be enjoyed in a controlled environment with responsibility. I won't consume marijuana here in Pa. It's illegal for rec use. If my doctor prescribed it....you bet. If it was approved for rec use...you bet. I'm sure I'd give it a go for curiosities sake.
Many of you might be cringing. But what's the difference between the youth leaders that smoked and drank behind closed doors? At least I'm being open about it.
Nobody is perfect. Everybody makes decisions. I think one of the stupidest things anyone in leadership position can is say "DON'T DO THAT". Or if they do....follow it up with, "and here's why, when I did _____....", or "when I smoke, here is what happens in my lungs", or "when I drink here is how it effects me......"
The thing that inspired this blog post, what that verse in the bible about God not giving us more than we can handle. Christians use that out of context all the time. The truth of it is...You can handle ANYTHING. It might not always be pleasant. But things can be handled. This verse just causes you to use your head. Oh...if you are poor. It's God's fault. You must not be able to handle money. So he doesn't give you more. You haven't eaten in days, you don't know where your next meal is....You must not be able to handle food.
See the damage this line of thinking creates?
Anyway. I could go on for days about the damages of taking bible verses out of context. See, Jeremiah 29:11. Maybe I'll dive more into this tomorrow.
No comments:
Post a Comment