SUBSTANCE ABUSE- SOCIETAL USE VS ADDICTION

SUBSTANCE ABUSE- SOCIETAL USE VS ADDICTION

Eric Ribeiro (Maloney SDA Men Ministry)                                                                                                                           February 25^th 2017

INTRODUCTION

The story is told of a movie producer who was interviewing young men for the starring role of Jesus in a film he was producing about the Life of Jesus. Among the young men he interviewed was one who stood out from the rest as he exuded beauty, and goodness, and kindness, three of the attributes they were looking for in the one who would portray the Son of God. Needless to say the movie broke all box Office records.

Years later the Producer would do a movie on Judas and in their search for a character they came upon this man in a pub whom they thought ideal for the character of Judas. He was shifty eyed, physically much the worse for wear, and though dressed rather nicely had all the appearances of a crook, a drug addict and one who had obviously spent time in jail.

When he was being interviewed however he began to cry and confessed to all present that several years ago it was he who had played the role of Jesus! What a difference a few years make! This brings us to our topic this morning entitled Substance Abuse- Societal Use vs. Addiction.

PREFACE

The Seventh-day Adventist Church recognizes the autonomy of each individual and his or her God-given power of choice. Rather than mandating standards of behaviour, Adventists call upon one another to live as positive examples of God’s love and care.

We often hear supposedly educated people use the words “Social Drinking” and more recently efforts are being made to legalize the use of marijuana. In this question and answer segment I will attempt to answer several questions.

MY FIRST QUESTION IS:

What is my opinion of the term societal use or social drinking?

ANSWER

We believe avoidance of harmful substances such as tobacco, alcohol and mood and mind-altering substances lead to clear minds and wise choices and the word of God is very clear on its use. Proverbs 20:1 advises us that “Wine is a mocker, strong drink is raging: and whosoever is deceived thereby is not wise.”

The societal effects of alcohol use are there for all to see; disrespect to others, a loose tongue and errors in judgment, severe injuries or fatal vehicular accidents. These are very real and unfortunately much of these actions once done cannot be undone.

QUESTION

But what about the effects on the family? Is there anything we should know?

ANSWER

As a matter of fact there is. Most of us agree that the values taught in the home influence us into our adult years, but when children as young as seven years old are H.I.V. positive or are victims of sexual abuse we know that the family unit has fallen apart and it is just a matter of time before the effects are felt within the community. We also know that many of these abuses including verbal, financial and physical abuse and of course divorces take place as a direct result of alcohol use or abuse.

QUESTION

What do we know about other drugs? Are there any benefits to be had by legalizing marijuana?

ANSWER

There is a tendency by many young people today to claim that marijuana is less lethal than alcohol, and it’s a matter of either, or. To my mind it ought to be neither, nor, as even small amounts of marijuana have been proven to negatively affect thinking, memory, and learning functions.

QUESTION

What are some of the effects of tobacco?

ANSWER

The National Institute of Drug Abuse (NIDA) recently claimed that one in every five deaths in the United States of America can be proven to have been caused by cigarette smoking. Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) is an umbrella term used to describe progressive lung diseases including emphysema or shortness of breath, chronic bronchitis, and lung cancer. If you have asthma, tobacco smoke can trigger an attack or make an attack worse. Smokers are 12 to 13 times more likely to die from COPD than non-smokers.

QUESTION

What is the difference between societal use and addiction?

ANSWER

Societal use assumes that persons who use alcohol and/ or other drugs can decide when, where and how much to use, whereas individuals who can no longer make those conscious decisions suffer from an obsessive/compulsive disorder- in this case addiction, where their every thought and action are geared towards the getting and using drugs and finding ways and means to get more even when they must commit crimes to get that fix.

QUESTION

What advice will you give to a young person who may be thinking of using alcohol and other drugs?

ANSWER

Colossians 3:17 says And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

Jeremiah 29:11. For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.

Using Marijuana and other illegal drugs is like walking blindly across a busy street hoping that you will not get struck by a speeding vehicle. Besides being punishable by law by either hefty fines or jail terms, the use of drugs can literally destroy whatever future God has planned for you.

Thank you, and may Almighty God bless us and give us the enlightenment to determine how best we can use this information to the honour and glory of His name within our Community.