Drugs: a structure of sin
by Justin D. Long
A little while ago we tackled perversions of sex and the major structure of sin that this results in. This week, we'll take a look at another structure of sin that Christian missionaries must deal with: the trade in drugs. There are three principle sources for drugs, of course: Latin America [where the war against the drug cartels has cost us not only many good men and women, but has caused some Christian martyrs as well]; Central Asia [specifically Afghanistan, one of the world's major drug exporters, impacting all of Europe]; and, of course, southeast Asia [the Golden Triangle].
Illegal drug trafficking costs our world approximately $170 billion per annum--dwarfing the annual missions budget of some $8.6 billion and almost matching the total given to churches worldwide ($194 billion). Cocaine alone is worth $40 billion per year, and heroin, $5 billion. An estimated 40 million people are involved in the drug trade.
Drugs make an impact on Christian missions in several ways. First, as noted above, there are those Christians who stand against the drug trade and are killed. Secondly, there are those who are killed or persecuted because their Christian mission interferes with the trade. Third is the general civil disruption caused in geographic areas controlled by drug dealers and drug farmers.
Fourth, and not the least, is the many victims of the drug trade: an estimated 55 million drug addicts worldwide. (These numbers don't include alcohol, which costs the world $350 billion per year and has caused 170 million alcoholics, or cigarettes, with $290 billion in sales, 650 million smokers, and 2.6 million yearly tobacco-related deaths. Further, the numbers don't include "spin-off" crimes of murder, economic crime, etc).
So what, exactly, can the church do about this? There are two routes, of course. First, Christians through political activism can seek governmental action on the drug problem. (Suggested solutions are numerous and we certainly aren't qualified to render any opinions on the "correct" solution, if any.) Secondly, Christians through churches should get involved in outreaches to drug addicts.
The latter has proven to be an exceptional evangelistic option. World Partners (with the Evangelical Missionary Church) has an outreach to drug addicts in Brazil; Teen Challenge has one in France; and CB International has one in Italy. (I know there are others out there: why don't you write and tell us about your program? Others would, I know, be interested in learning how such programs work and what success they've had.) However, interestingly enough, these outreaches all target drug +USERS+, and we have yet to see ministry to drug +FARMERS+. Perhaps that's because such an outreach would be incredibly dangerous.
However, one comment that serves as "cross-pollination": an associate of ours who served as a missionary to the Muslim world for several years lamented that he did not spend more time during his tenure in evangelizing imams and other Muslim leaders. Granted, a hard and initially fruitless field, but when eventually successfull it would yield far more results than evangelizing individual believers. Perhaps this serves as a lesson to us when considering ministry among those in the drug trade: if the +SUPPLY+ were cut off by a change of heart in those providing it, then the +USERS+ could be more easily dealt with.
