Free Yourself or Friends from Drugs

By Marjorie Foerster Eddington and Kendall James, freshman

Most of us know that drugs hurt you. They hurt your bodies, minds, and relationships. Drugs disable you from thinking for yourself. You don't always know what you're doing. They affect your ability to think well, and they slow down or speed up your reactions.

I know this from some of my friends and acquaintances who have used drugs. As a result, I obviously don't think that anyone should take drugs.

If you know people who are doing drugs, then you really have a responsibility to try to help them. You might try telling them how worried you are about them, how much drugs are hurting them, and how important these individuals are to you.

In order to help someone else stop doing drugs or not get into them in the first place, or to keep yourself from falling victim to drugs…

• You have to ask why you think you (or your friend) want to do drugs.
• You should always check your motives. In fact, this is true for anything you do.

Doing drugs for fun is not a right motive because you are basing your fun on something that is totally physical. Plus, it messes up your mind and body and it's against the law. But "fun" may not be the real reason.

The bottom line is that there is never a good motive for doing drugs.

Lots of people will say drugs are wrong. But if you want to change, you have to know why they're wrong. Some of the reasons have already been mentioned. There are other reasons that will apply to each individual situation. The point is, once you know how bad drugs are, there is no reason to do them. The long-term effects simply aren't worth it.

We all can learn from mistakes! But to keep doing something that you know is wrong just digs you into a deeper and deeper hole, making it harder and harder to climb out. And if you keep doing something because you don't know how people will react if you try to stop, then take a look at Peter in the Bible. Peter denies Jesus three times, but Jesus forgives him. Jesus tells Peter, "Feed my sheep" (John 21:15-17). Jesus expects Peter to go out and help others.

Allow yourself to be forgiven.

Kendall James, freshman

Editor's Note:
Perhaps you or your friend got involved in drugs because of feeling inadequate. Maybe there's self-hatred. Or you or they may feel unable to handle problems at home or school and wish for an escape.

Whatever the reason, forgiveness enables you to start over with a clean slate, to begin again. It's amazing what freedom forgiveness gives you.

To help you or a friend begin a drug-free life…

• Allow yourself to be loved.
• Allow yourself to feel God’s love.
• Start seeing the person God created, the person God loves.
• Start identifying yourself as God’s daughter or son.
• Watch how your self-esteem rises.
• As a result, your desire to harm the child God created by doing drugs will naturally diminish.

It's also very important to get supportive adults involved. Often we think we can do everything by ourselves. It's amazing what turning to someone with more life experience and more love can do. You wouldn't want to be responsible for not doing everything you could to help a friend, and that may mean breaking a promise not to tell a parent or teacher. You might ask yourself what is more important – your friendship or their health and their lives.

MFE