Just Say No To Drugs - Part 1
- Bible Prophet
- Sep 6, 2024
- 2 min read
For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all men, instructing us to deny ungodliness and worldly desires and to live sensibly, righteously and godly in the present age, looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus, who gave Himself for us to redeem us from every lawless deed, and to purify for Himself a people for His own possession, zealous for good deeds [Titus 2:11-14].
A TV commercial used to run regularly during prime time each evening. For the life of me I cannot even venture a guess how long ago it was. Memory isn’t what it used to be.
Anyway a public disavowal of illegal drug usage was in full swing. In a failed effort to dissuade the young folks—and the not so young too—from using drugs, the government put out these commercials on the TV during prime time. They were actually done quite well.
I remember how one of the commercials popped up on the screen, showing a skillet with an egg in it. The egg sizzled loudly as it fried. After several seconds of watching that scene—the delay being for effect and creating anticipation, you see—a voice brusquely announced, “This is your brain on drugs. Any questions?”
Effective in making a point, don’t you agree? Well, the real point I want to draw from those anti-drug commercials is what followed next. All of these anti-drug commercials ended with the same catchphrase, “Just say no to drugs.”
The reason I recall those anti-drug commercials at this time is simple. Many many moons ago a youth pastor at a church where I interned had a good take on Titus 2:12. In the New International Version the verse is translated, “It teaches us to say ‘No’ to ungodliness and worldly passions”. Taking his cue from the anti-drug commercials, he noted that Titus 2:12 is his anti-drug verse. Being a youth pastor he regularly taught and exhorted the youth not to do drugs.
Whenever I read Titus 2 anymore, I remember that good brother. He had a knack for ministering to young folks. Youth pastors require a special gift from the Lord, if they are to be effective with teenagers under their care. He was good at his ministry, and I for one appreciated him for it.
In this study we won’t employ Titus 2:12 as our anti-drug Bible verse. We want to tackle verses 11-14 as a group and enjoy the smorgasbord of scrumptious delectables afforded therein. So let’s wash our hands, sit at the table, say grace, and get to eating!
But now we will call it a day and go visit with Jesus a spell. See you tomorrow, and we won’t be showing any more commercials.
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Numbers: Volume 4 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please click on the "Shop" tab at the top of this page, where you will find a complete list of my books. Each book is available in both paperback (Createspace) and eBook (Kindle).
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