It’s obvious to all of us that drugs are a problem in the world today. And that’s to be expected. There are a lot of unsaved people who simply do what they wanna do. So, while Christians are called to minister to these people, it isn’t out of the ordinary that these people need to be ministered to. But what is surprising is the amount of drug use among those who claim to be the ministers ( that is, Christians), especially the younger generation. It’s these people whom I’m writing this to—Christians who destroy their bodies through smoking, drinking, chewing tobacco . . . or worse. There are two things you have to understand: first, “your” body isn’t yours to begin with, and second, your body is a temple where God Himself dwells.

We read in 1 Corinthians 3:16-17, “You are not your own. You were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies.” This is a massive point that we have to grasp in order to see the truth. You see, God was not obligated to create you. He freely chose to mould your very being with His own hands out of His own good graces. Then, once man sinned, He was not obligated to have nails driven through his hands and feet in order to redeem you, but He did so out of His own infinite mercy and love for you. So first off, we only exist because it’s God’s will that we exist. This means that we have a responsibility to look to our creator for instructions on how to live. So, if He tells us not to defile our bodies, then we shouldn’t do so. After all, they’re not even ours; they’re His to begin with! Ruining them knowingly would be like borrowing your best friend’s car and running it into every light post you can find. On top of that, Christians are doubly responsible for the way we treat our bodies because we owe their redeemed state to God as well. Without Him, we would still be destined for Hell. So when He tells us to obey Him and to stop ruining our bodies, how can we possibly not listen? He fearfully and wonderfully shaped us, and He redeemed us by being brutally murdered on a cross, and we can’t even put down one stinkin’ cigarette? Are you kiddin’ me?!

Then there’s a second point: our bodies are God’s living temples. 1 Corinthians 6:19, 1 Corinthians 3:16-17, and Romans 12:1-2 all support this claim. Once we think about this, we realize that it has huge repercussions on our lives. You see, once a person repents of their sins and accepts Jesus, the Holy Spirit literally comes and indwells them, making them the home of God Himself. So, if you’ve been saved, then your simple body is a place where God Himself is present; you are holy ground! Now, the very thought of decimating this beautiful temple that God is trying to renovate with something as stupid as, say, marijuana, seems like the most utterly STUPID thing any human could ever do! It’s the equivalent of the High Priest stomping into the Holy of Holies and hacking up a loogie on the Ark of the Covenant! Or an ordained minister setting fire to his own church and seeing no problem with it! If you’re a Christian, then you must not do drugs and defile your temple simply because they “make you feel good” or because “everyone else is doing them.” In degrading your temple, you’re spitting in the face of God.

Now one might say, “Well, I’ll only do it once.” I say, “WHY?!” Why would you, as the High Priest, cough up even a little mucous when spitting in the Ark, or, as the minister, start only a small flame in the sanctuary? It just doesn’t make sense. Why defile the sanctuary even a little? Why take even the slightest chance at ruining the body that God has so graciously given you? We should do all we can to respect and preserve our bodies which are dwelling-places of God. There is no reason to do drugs or drink AT ALL! I don’t care if you’ve only smoked one cigarette in your whole life: it’s still a blatant insult to God and a clear disregard for the fact that what you do to yourself, you do to His holy temple.

It’s time we stand up and stop destroying the temples that God has blessed us with and indwelled. This doesn’t just mean opposing drugs and alcohol, but also gluttony, sexual impurity, and a multitude of other body-related sins. I mean, God created us, which He didn’t have to do; then He died for our salvation after we messed up, which He didn’t have to do; and now we’re gonna waste away the bodies He’s so mercifully blessed us with on something as downright idiotic and worldly as drugs? How foolish and self-centered are we? That kind of disrespect and ingratitude can only come from a sociopath, which I don’t think any of us are. So why do professing Christians keep doing drugs and drinking? Well, if you’ve truly repented of your sins then you must respect God, and if you respect God then you respect His dwelling place, and if you respect His dwelling place then you don’t arbitrarily ruin it. The only Christians addicted to drugs or alcohol should be those who are giving their utmost efforts to break loose of it. Could it be that some of us have missed the first step . . . ?


“Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in them. For everything in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—comes not from the Father but from the world. The world and its desires pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives forever.”













- 1 John 2:15-17