Shallow Hal - Shallow Gal on Marijuana

Shallow Hal was a recent movie. It was about a man who looked only on what's obvious. He was hung up on outward beauty, but ignored what's inside. One day he saw inner beauty and fell in love with it! Thereafter, the outer beauty became insignificant to the extent that the inner beauty shined through, exceeding what met the eye.  Women are that way too! It's not a gender specific malady. We also have Shallow Gals!

People only see the obvious. They turn their thinkers off and fail to examine the entire package. Humans, for the most part, are not holistic thinkers! People, every day, partake of poisons to the body because they taste good or feel good. Pleasure outweighs health!

If we look at example, there is a certain toe fungus medication with horrendous side-effects. Many people, to have beautiful toenails, endanger their health, even their life! The dangers significantly outweigh the benefits.

In nutrition shops all over the world are herbs and mixtures which purport to provide all types of benefits from sexual prowess to longevity in years. They guarantee perfect skin and vibrant health. Most of the benefits are imaginary or minimal. Many are dangerous, yet people endanger themselves for the hope of improvement. People are shallow thinkers!

Years ago, although I never ever bought one, I looked at Playboy magazines. My thinking was shallow! I received pleasure in looking at naked bodies, but never looked beyond that. As I matured as a Christian I considered the word of the Lord. It does not say anywhere "Do not look at girlie magazines", but if anyone considers texts on lust, respect, etc. discriminating thinkers will realize that wasting time looking at bawdy pictures takes time from worshiping the Lord, and can become an idol itself!

 I considered this all one day after I had a child and thought "Those girls are somebody's daughters!" I quickly realized how awful it would be if it was my own daughter grown men were gaping! Furthermore, the hedonistic articles between the "spreads" are another gospel. They teach things which are an abomination to the Lord! Christians endanger their very soul gradually as they absorb Satan's gospel of pleasure!

At one time I was Shallow Hal with entertainment. I used to skip Sunday evening worship to watch Cher. With her provocative dress, I'm not even aware of listening to her music! I put Cher over God! I was shallow! Now before I buy any music album or watch a movie, I consider the whole. "Will this entertain? Will it offend God with filth, homosexuality, sex, or disrespect?" I also ask "Do I want my hard earned money to go to this actor, musician or writer who is at odds with what I cherish whether it be politics or religion?" (I will not support atheists or liberal Democrats if I am aware! I just can't ignore their antipathy to things I hold dear!).

I'm no longer Shallow Hal! I am discerning and principled. I'm not going to dishonor God for my own pleasure if I can help it. I look beyond the outward at the mechanism inside. Those people have an agenda, I'm on that agenda, but I won't go willingly to the "gas chambers" so to speak. I'm going to put up a fight for truth, right and righteousness. My money is not going to aid and abet them!

People have their priorities wrong. Much of it is directed toward wealth or the pleasure which riches can buy:

1 Timothy 6:10 "For the love of money is the root of all evil"

Entertainers and entertainment are driven by money. People who have money are respected, loved, and even idolized. Those people live extravagant lifestyles at your expense! I say "yours" because I make an attempt for it not to be my money which allows them to disparage me!

My introduction to Shallow Hal (i.e., shallow thinkers) is a prologue to comprehensive thinking on the current rage to legalize marijuana and minimize it's effects. Shallow thinkers want to legalize it. It's enjoyable to the user and is a good tax source. That is the outward beauty of Mary Jane, but I guarantee that ugly Hilda lies just beneath the surface! Shallow Hal failed to look at the inner woman. Shallow Gal fails to look beyond the beauty of Mary Jane!

Since this is a Christian blog, let's get scripture out of the way. Most users will ignore what God says because Mary Jane has already beguiled the user! Heavy users of marijuana are beyond help until they are sober. No one ever accused heavy users of marijuana to be discerning, so why would we expect them to discern? Heavy users are by definition shallow people, but read the scripture anyway; to appease me if nothing else!

Sobriety:

We are all to remain sober. Soberness is temperance and thoughtfulness. It would seem that most people use "MJ" to be mellow. Indeed that is the use of recreational marijuana. Mellow people are not thoughtful and their behavior is fogged by the somatic influence of THC. Here's what scripture says about sobriety:

1 Peter 5:8 "Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour..."

This verse answers why men should remain sober and alert. It's because there is a war going on between "principalities" , evil spirits and you! Those with clouded minds allow the devil to come in and fill the empty place in the minds and souls of the person. Users don't stand a chance. The devil will devour them! No one wants to be eaten by evil lions, but that's what's beyond the pleasure of MJ! The devil can steal the soul of the user right from under them. Even the casual user is intrigued to use more MJ or other stuff! Sin compounds itself gradually because Satan is patient!

Users are apathetic. That's another characteristic of marijuana. People, as they mellow, just don't care. They fail to consider or have impaired judgment due to the mental fog! Of course they care about the "Self", but that's the extent of it until even pleasure exceeds the preservation of the self. Heavy users also allow themselves to be exposed to danger in the pursuit of pleasure. Scripture tells us to beware and apathy is, well; pathetic!

Apathy:

Apathetic people just don't care. They have few strong thoughts or even emotions! Being "mellow" on MJ is being apathetic. That's what users choose to be! They are in effect shielding themselves from real life! In the book Brave New World by Aldous Huxley was this conversation:

"Six years later it was being produced commercially. The perfect drug."
[…]
"Euphoric, narcotic, pleasantly hallucinant."
"Glum, Marx, glum." The clap on the shoulder made him start, look up. It was that brute Henry Foster. "What you need is a gramme of soma."
"All the advantages of Christianity and alcohol; none of their defects."

Controlled people in a future dictatorship were apathetic to their own slavery because they were manipulated by the drug "soma". Marijuana is that "soma" and people want you apathetic for reasons. Mellow people care little about religion, politics, freedom nor tomorrow! Soma induced people have succumbed to the roaring lion!

Ephesians 5:16 (ESV) "Making the best use of the time, because the days are evil.
Romans 12:11 (ESV) "Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord."

Heavy MJ users are burn-outs. They make little attempt to manage time and they are slothful! Casual users show degrees of apathy whether they know it or not. Fooled by the pleasure, they fail to see that they are listless, have poorer judgment and are more self-centered. With time the casual user may graduate! People who open themselves freely to the influence of foreign substances exercise poor judgment! After all, if you don't want to shoot yourself, don't play Russian Roulette!

Alertness:

Yes, we are to stay alert!

1 Peter 1:13 (ESV) "Therefore, preparing your minds for action, and being sober-minded, set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ."
Matthew 24:42 (ESV) "Therefore, stay awake, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming."

How can you consider your well-being if you're judgment and thought processes are dimmed? The spiritual reason for remaining sober is to keep ourselves sensitive to the calling of the Holy Spirit. When he calls us to salvation, we must care enough to respond! As with Huxley's soma, MJ does negatively influence Christianity because there is no such thing as a non-caring Christian! To be a Christian one must feel sorrow, repent, believe and accept Jesus. Apathetic people feel little remorse, let alone faith!

Disrespect:

God tells us many places "Don't do things the pagans do!", but yet that's what people do! It's called rebellion and shows utter disrespect for what the Lord wants for us!

1 Corinthians 10:20-21 (ESV) "No, I imply that what pagans sacrifice they offer to demons and not to God. I do not want you to be participants with demons. 21 You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons. You cannot partake of the table of the Lord and the table of demons."

MJ, as are all illicit drugs, are tools if demons. Whereas, pagans care little for God and use drugs and so forth in rebellion to him, Christians copy pagans with little aforethought, let alone remorse! Is a listless, inhaling, roach-holding and belligerent druggie doing what Jesus would do? Only a fool would think so! MJ is drinking "the cup of demons" and by inhaling that "drink" people open themselves to that roaring lion. It is common knowledge that MJ is a gateway drug! It opens the lions cage, so to speak, if not petting the lion himself!

Practical:

Now for discerning reasons. We must think deeply and coherently. Our thinking must be contiguous! Here is some deep thought recommendations for Shallow Hals and Shallow Gals:

Medical marijuana: It does nothing that prescribed THC will not do and contains many unknown side effects. Medical marijuana is merely putting the foot in the lions mouth. It opens the door for recreational use and sales show that in California, most people seem to have glaucoma! Surely not!

THC alone, without the tars and various untested chemicals of marijuana, can cause heart attacks and cognitive effects described in Wikipedia:

"THC intoxication is well established to impair cognitive functioning on an acute basis, including effects on the ability to plan, organize, solve problems, make decisions, and control impulses. The extent of this impact may be greater in novice users, and paradoxically, those habituated to high level ingestion may have reduced cognition during withdrawal."

Simply put, users don't think right! They become irrational, unorganized, indecisive and impulsive; and that's without all the other inherent dangers!

THC increases psychosis two-fold and  even at an earlier age. No sane person desires to be psychotic, but that's what THC does!

Atherosclerosis is increased due to THC. This affects the functioning of the heart and brain!  Furthermore, THC can have adverse reactions with other medicines. Using THC is as silly as a vain person using toe-nail fungus medicines as mentioned earlier! The risks vastly outweigh any perceived benefits! It would seem that medicinal marijuana is recreation for the sick who want to get sicker!

Now let's move on to marijuana. Even pure MJ, according to A History of Cannibus can produce "unwanted side-effects (which) can sometimes include a decrease in short-term memory, dry mouth, impaired motor skills, reddening of the eyes, and feelings of paranoia or anxiety. Who wants to be absent minded, paranoid and overly anxious, not to mention the red eyes and dry mouth?

There are over 400 chemicals in the cannabis plant, and some 61 of them are peculiar to that species. Since cannabis is low in nitrogen few have been isolated and have unknown effects;  THC being the main one synthesized. What these chemicals are capable of doing to the body is unclear, but the user clearly ingests a smorgasbord of potentially dangerous drugs! On top of that, there is 18 more times tar in marijuana than in cigarettes!

A technique used by MJ pimps is to add other ingredients to joints for two reasons: 1) increase potency or 2) take low grade MJ and add by-products to increase the volume. PCP is the booster many use for increased potency and trash weeds increase volumes. Clearly, black market marijuana is laced with harmful chemicals and the user is the guinea pig!

All people who use MJ in the United States are currently law-breakers whether it's legal in their state or not. It's a federal offense! In order to bring MJ to the people criminals peddle their wares. People get killed so that users can get high! If you are a user, you're an accomplice in crime and likely murder!

Have you never thought of these things before, Shallow Hal and Shallow Gal? Think on these things now!

Let's look at things at a deeper level shallow thinkers.

Cigarettes are being banned because of their health dangers, medical treatment costs and second-hand smoke. Marijuana is certainly even more harmful to the health, will drive the cost of medical insurance sky high and second-hand marijuana smoke is worse than the smell of tobacco for most of us!

Kids use cigarettes because adults model for them. The same goes for marijuana. Kids will use MJ to be more adult-like. That's just common sense! There is no way in the world to ensure kids are MJ free. It can't be done for cigarettes because of so much ease in getting them, and it won't work for MJ.

I mentioned earlier that a reason I don't look at Playboy is because it's someone's daughter. The kid who chooses to smoke dope may be your own child or grandchild. Many people turn their heads to "other kids", but it may be your child who becomes a MJ burnout! I've been there. The entire family becomes dysfunctional and rational conversation is non-existent!

Even if MJ is legal, employers will never stand for employees to work when high. This means that potheads will eventually be weeded (ironically so) from the workforce. MJ users are a danger on the job to other people and themselves. Insurance companies will surely reject workmen's compensation claims for employees injured when using.

Then we look at careers! MJ users just don't cut the mustard when in competition with motivated people. As a manager I found it easy to spot their methods. MJ users will never be as successful as their straight counterparts unless they are in a vocation MJ friendly!

Very important is the increased medical costs for those using MJ. I've spoken of the increased chance of various diseases associated with MJ use. Someone pays for that! Under Obamacare, that's likely you! Why should you pay for others to abuse themselves?

The most dangerous outcome of MJ use is damage to others. I won't speak of pre-natal damage to the growing baby, but road accidents are of high concern. People who use MJ just are not as alert as those sober! That's why they use it; to become more mellow!

I could go on and on. In general it's stupid to use marijuana. However, the stupidity of it goes unnoticed by Shallow Hals and Shallow Gals. In fact irrational users convince themselves, relying on magazines and entertainers to teach them the "truth' when such sources have nothing to gain by truth!

Legalized marijuana is a "stupid tax" on shallow personalities. Users pay the government because they fail to consider all the issues. Unmotivated people are just not deep thinkers!

The government, when it's legalized, are the winners! It gets more of your money to waste and you become less prone to worry about freedom issues. Marijuana is the "soma" which dictatorships use to control. In effect users relent their freedom to get high. They pleasure in their slavery!

People who smoke "good" dope just can't afford it! Where do they turn? Theft! My home was broken into so juveniles could use my cameras and jewelry to buy drugs and get high. I know who did it. It was the neighborhood potheads. Any thoughtful person must know that theft costs are high and most of theft is drug related, including MJ!

Consider rape, assault and many other crimes. They are done by people who for the most part want to get high. They are either marijuana users or harder drugs, but even marijuana is a gateway drug to more potent chemicals!

Think on these things. Inhale deeply and breath the fresh air of truth buried deeply below the mainstream thoughts. Quit copying musicians and entertainers. Be an individual. People who think for themselves, don't follow the leader when the leader is insane.

Now exhale. If you are in a space without marijuana and THC isn't embedded in your brain, you may be able to consider these things. Unfortunately, users don't think straight and you may have to wait until some street peddler takes all your money before the THC clears enough to be rational. If you can abstain for about a month, think on these things!