Drugs - to do or not to do?

Last night in our teen dinner and discussion group we talked about drugs. It was amazing how quickly all of the youth hollered out that they weren’t going to do drugs or smoke. I know that many of these kids come out of homes where their parents and relatives do drugs. The topic of discussion was generated because of finding a bag of some type of cloves or spices in a little bag hidden behind our little trash in the downstairs bathroom.

As I am driving around picking up youth for our dinner and discussion it was interesting that a couple of the girls are in the same class where a few of their fellow students were suspended for having pot on them. One of their fellow students had ‘ratted’ these guys out. We talked a little about when it is ok to be a snitch. It was good that all of them agreed that snitched on someone with drugs or a weapon was a good thing.

The key of the discussion was why do people do drugs? What has to happen in order for that person to stop using drugs? It was clear that all of these students were around family and friends who are hooked on drugs and know how difficult it is to change courses in life. One of the kids who lives in this type of environment said the only way to kick a bad habit is by having a good habit to replace it. WOW! Way to go man!

As we talked, joked, laughed and also showed concern for those who are hooked it was clear that this was an important topic of conversation. We talked about how choices in life do have consequences that impact not only us but also those we love the most. We talked about a teen that had been in our group that just had a baby. The implications of being a 15year old mom are huge.

The unfortunate reality is that there will be like 2-3 kids in this group of 20 last night whose lives will be marred by drugs. A few of these kids have dads in prison for selling drugs and so they know first hand what can happen. I shared a little of my history with a few friends who did drugs in high school that OD. The real message, which isn’t as easy to comprehend, is that God made our incredible bodies and that we are called to care for them, nurture them to ultimately give God the attention, honor and thanks for our lives.

So as we finished up it isn’t easy to know how to help these teens stay on the right path. Everything around us pulls us into the drugs, hip-hop, rap and sex culture. My hope is that having open discussions with God at the center of what we say will draw these teens back to the ones who can help them stay on track.