Who gets to determine what is good and what is evil—the Creator, or the creation?
I recently found myself thinking about what seemed like a simple question:
Is smoking marijuana a sin?
But the deeper I thought about it through Scripture, the more I realized the question wasn’t really just about marijuana.
It was about creation. Knowledge. Wisdom. Free will. And our relationship with YAH.
YAH created plants with properties human beings are still discovering. Some nourish us. Some heal. Some relieve pain. Others contain compounds that, when extracted or concentrated, can become extremely powerful—even dangerous.
And then something struck me:
YAH already knew all of this.
Nothing humanity has discovered was ever a discovery to Him.
“Great is our Lord, and of great power: his understanding is infinite.”
— Psalm 147:5 KJV
Before we understood chemistry, YAH understood it.
Before we understood the human brain, He designed it.
We cannot discover anything within creation that surprises its Creator.
The Knowledge of Good and Evil
That realization took me back to Eden.
YAH gave Adam and Eve tremendous freedom, but He also established a boundary:
“But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it…”
— Genesis 2:17 KJV
The serpent offered humanity something incredibly tempting:
Knowledge independent of YAH.
Genesis says Eve saw the tree as:
“…a tree to be desired to make one wise…”
— Genesis 3:6 KJV
But humanity gained knowledge without gaining YAH’s infinite wisdom.
And perhaps we’re still living with that tension today.
Human beings are intelligent enough to ask:
“Can we do this?”
But wisdom asks another question:
“Should we do this?”
Those are not the same thing.
But YAH Created the Plant
Consider the coca plant.
YAH created the plant. Human beings eventually discovered how to extract and concentrate one of its compounds into cocaine.
That doesn’t make the plant evil.
But neither does the fact that YAH created the plant mean that every way humans choose to process or use it must therefore be good.
Creation and human use of creation are not always the same thing.
And that brings me back to marijuana.
Saying “YAH created it” doesn’t completely answer the question.
We must also ask:
Why am I using it? What is it doing to me? Is it impairing my judgment? Am I controlling it—or is it beginning to control me?
Paul wrote:
“…I will not be brought under the power of any.”
— 1 Corinthians 6:12 KJV
That’s bigger than marijuana.
Anything that begins mastering us deserves examination.
Scripture Gives Us an Example: Wine
YAH created grapes.
Scripture doesn’t condemn wine itself. Paul even told Timothy:
“…use a little wine for thy stomach’s sake and thine often infirmities.”
— 1 Timothy 5:23 KJV
Yet Scripture also says:
“And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess…”
— Ephesians 5:18 KJV
There is the distinction.
The fruit isn’t condemned.
But our freedom is still governed by wisdom, moderation, obedience and self-control.
Something can have a legitimate use while its misuse becomes destructive.
And Scripture repeatedly tells us:
“Be sober, be vigilant…”
— 1 Peter 5:8 KJV
The deeper question isn’t simply whether Scripture names marijuana, cocaine, or some other substance.
The deeper question is whether our choices are consistent with sobriety, self-control, wisdom and obedience to YAH.
His Boundaries Are for Our Good
This may have been the most beautiful realization for me.
Sometimes we look at YAH’s commandments and see restrictions:
Don’t do this. Don’t touch that. Don’t go there.
But what if the Creator establishes boundaries because He understands His creation better than the creation understands itself?
Scripture says:
“And the LORD commanded us to do all these statutes… for our good always, that he might preserve us alive…”
— Deuteronomy 6:24 KJV
For our good.
YAH doesn’t have to experiment to discover what will harm us.
He already knows.
We’re often the ones who discover the consequences afterward.
His boundaries aren’t simply about restriction.
Sometimes the boundary itself is evidence of His protection.
Knowledge Isn’t Enough
Humanity continues to ask:
What can we discover? What can we create? What can we alter? How far can we go?
But perhaps wisdom asks:
“YAH, what did You intend?”
Because human intelligence without godly wisdom can become self-destructive.
Think about that:
We can become intelligent enough to discover new ways to harm ourselves.
Knowledge alone isn’t enough.
We need wisdom.
And ultimately, we need the Creator.
The Creator or the Creation?
My question about marijuana took me somewhere I didn’t expect.
It led me back to Eden.
Back to the tree.
Back to humanity’s desire for knowledge.
And ultimately, back to the wisdom and sovereignty of YAH.
Human beings will continue making extraordinary discoveries.
But none of our discoveries are new to Him.
YAH already knew.
So perhaps the question humanity has been answering since Eden is still before us:
Knowledge tells us what is possible.
Wisdom asks whether it is good.
Obedience recognizes that YAH already knows the difference.
And when the Creator gives us boundaries, perhaps we should stop seeing only what He is keeping us from and begin recognizing what He may be protecting us from.
Who gets to determine what is good and what is evil—the Creator, or the creation?
His ways are for our good, our life, and our peace.
— FaYah 🌿
