Substance Use Harm Reduction: What Would Jesus Do?

During an opioid epidemic with so many dying of overdose, would Jesus promote harm reduction practices and products?

As a professional harm reductionist, I regularly give out harm reduction products like fentanyl test strips, condoms, Narcan, and meth cookers. I counsel people about safer use techniques like using with a friend or smoking versus injecting. And, as a Christian, I’m okay with that.

What is Harm Reduction?

Simply put, harm reduction is mitigating potential harms caused by risky behaviors. Historically, the Evangelical church has not had much to do with harm reduction. Unfortunately, conservative Christians have been preoccupied with the dichotomy of righteousness versus sin.

If a self-righteous Church sees something as sin, it cannot in good conscience offer products or services to reduce the harm of that sin. The rationale is that the church condones the action by offering such products and services. Yet, harm reduction is something that Christians practice every day, without even thinking about it.

Everyday Examples of Harm Reduction

Here are some everyday examples of harm reduction, that Christians utilize every day. When you put on your seatbelt, you’re practicing harm reduction. When you wear your personal flotation device in your boat, you are practicing harm reduction. If you go to an amusement park and you keep your hands and feet inside the ride at all times, you are practicing harm reduction. If your gun has a safety, you might be practicing harm reduction. For some reason, Christians don’t assign moral values to these. Yet, other risky behaviors, the church labels as sin. As a result, the Church often pushes back against harm reduction strategies.

The Push-Back

Many Christians share the perspective of The Christian Institute, which says that “‘Harm reduction’ approaches are un-Christian.” This article claims:

“From a Christian perspective, harm reduction greases the tracks of sin. Instead of telling young people that actions inevitably have consequences, harm reduction presents as a paradise what is inherently dangerous.

Harm reduction creates an atmosphere of acceptability that encourages more people to engage in harmful activity and stigmatises those young people who remain opposed to it. This will result in increased harm, not reduced harm.

… Harm reduction undermines the rule of law and parental authority. It leads young people into wrong-doing. It sends out the message that taking drugs or engaging in underage sex is acceptable.”

Conservative Christians fear that if they present harm reduction products and services, they are giving approval to sin. Yet, when the Church adopts a position that describes addiction as sin rather than disease, it shuts down any possible communication other than a righteous finger-shaking.

What Does Paul Say?

The apostle Paul addresses this Christian tendency to take a prohibitive stance, rather than understand that at some time or another, people are going to engage in unwise behaviors. In Colossians 2:20-23, Paul writes about this attitude that relies on rule-following rather than thoughtfully investigating what is helpful or harmful.

If with Christ you died to the elemental principles of the world, why do you live as if you still belonged to the world? Why do you submit to regulations, “Do not handle! Do not taste! Do not touch!”? All these regulations refer to things that perish with use; they are simply human commands and teachings. These have indeed an appearance of wisdom in promoting self-imposed piety, humility, and severe treatment of the body, but they are of no value in checking self-indulgence.

Keep in mind that Paul is not encouraging self-indulgence. He is not condoning harmful behavior. Rather, his point is simply that rule-keeping alone does not check indulgent activities. Since people are going to indulge themselves, the Church can practice love by helping people reduce the harmful consequences of that behavior.

Jesus and Harm Reduction

Faced with the opioid epidemic today, Jesus would have practiced harm reduction principles—even though it offends religious sensibilities. Many times, Jesus broke either religious tradition or biblical law to promote a person’s well-being. When presented with difficult situations, Jesus considered, “Which is worse—to break the rules or to suffer the harmful consequences of not breaking the rules?” Jesus determined that it’s no sin to break the rules for the sake of the greater good.

Picking Grain on the Sabbath

In Matthew 12, Jesus permitted his disciples to pick grain on the sabbath. Rubbing the grain between their fingers and the palms of their hands, they blew away the chaff. According to the religious interpretation of the day, this amounted to a small-scale harvesting and threshing operation. It qualified as working on the Sabbath, a violation of the Ten Commandments. The Pharisees criticized him for this, but Jesus replied that David had set the precedent, having eaten consecrated bread when he was on the run from Saul. Sometimes, to promote the greater good and to reduce potential harm, you’ve got to break a few rules.

What Defiles a Person?

In Matthew 15, Jesus reminded his critics that it’s not what we do outwardly with our bodies that indicates righteousness or unrighteousness. Instead, it’s the content of our hearts. Again, the Pharisees criticized the disciples for their behavior. This time, it was because they did not wash their hands before eating—another violation of religious tradition.

Jesus said, “It is not what goes into the mouth that defiles a person, but it is what comes out of the mouth that defiles.” Jesus then highlighted the hypocrisy of the Pharisees, who tried to make themselves look holy by offering money to the temple that they had originally set aside to take care of their elderly parents. Jesus encouraged them to reduce the harm done by their seemingly religious act of piety, and to take care of those in need instead.

What Would Jesus Do?

Today, I want to ask the question Christians asked thirty years ago—”What would Jesus do?” Somewhere along the way, many believers have quit asking that question. Instead, Christians have become convinced that the best way to create a good society is to impose Christian values on everyone else. Instead of expecting the world to behave like the Church, it’s time the Church reached out to help the world. Because that’s what Jesus would do.

How Can Your Church Save Lives?

I hope you’ll join me for my next article, “Overdose Awareness Day: How Can Your Church Save Lives?” I’ll offer seven things you won’t hear in Evangelical churches but should. I’ll also offer suggestions for mental health harm reduction, substance use harm reduction, and sexual harm reduction. I invite you to practice harm reduction as Jesus did, setting aside judgment for the greater good.