1
Corinthians 6:19 What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost
which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? 20 For ye are
bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which
are God's.
1
Corinthians 9:27 But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest
that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway.
Philippians
4:8 Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest,
whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are
lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there
be any praise, think on these things.
1
Corinthians 10:31 Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do
all to the glory of God.
Aside from the health risk to you
and anyone who inhales your second hand smoke, consider the filth factor. Chewing
and spitting are a disgusting habit. There is possibly nothing more revolting
than to have to take a spitting fool seriously. When someone picks their nose
or farts in public, at least we can try to deal with it as the result of natural
causes from God's creation. Eating beans is not bad for your health. But, tobacco
is a poison and killer, and to have to deal with the blackened teeth and the spitting
in public is the result of a rebel attitude in a crass slob.
Smoking
is accompanied by an attitude in most people. They feel they have a right to fill
the air with smoke. They have no consideration for the health of others nearby,
and they don't care if they spoil your appetite in an eating establishment. They
leave filth around in the form of ashes and ash trays to be emptied. And, finally,
smoking results in millions of dollars of damage annually due to fire started
by mindless idiots who flip their butts around.
The breath of a smoker
reminds me of barnyards I have walked through. Any one who smokes smells like
the back end of a heifer, and I say that charitably of course. To have to use
an out house in the heat of summer is a luxury compared to having to try to carry
on a serious conversation with a smoker.
Because of the gross aspects
of smoking, and because it kills the user, I find it very hard to believe a smoking
or chewing man is born again. I know it is possible, but the social and personal
insanity in the habit shows a total disregard for the Lordship of Jesus Christ.
As to cigar smokers, my psychology professor in college, Dr. Emerson,
said they smoke cigars because they were weaned too early or were not breast fed.
This implies that cigar smokers are sucking on a surrogate nipple. That just about
says it all folks. And, there is your cigar smoking buddy, Rush Limbaugh. If Dr.
Emerson was correct, then this would be another very good reason to nurse a new
baby naturally, right? Get the sucking out of his soul the God-given way.
I
had an older fellow working for me long ago when I was working in a paper company.
We was the union man, and I was the low management man. We were the only two in
our area, and we got on great. But, it burdened me greatly that he smoked a pipe.
Actually, he smoked two pipes, for he had one always cooling while he smoked the
other. He had lived to 63 I believe, but he virtually oozed the odor of tobacco,
and he was skinny and frail. He retired at 64 from the paper mill, and he died
nine months later. I believe he paid the price in that he was sickly and died
before he should have. Pipes come in many clever and valuable varieties, and there
is indeed one small advantage in that the smoke can be cooled before entering
the mouth and lungs. Pipe smoking gives a veneer of sophistication to killing
oneself with the infernal weed. Pipe tobacco is laced with aromas which make people
believe the smoke is in fact charming and pleasant. Yet the poisons are still
there, and the second hand smoke is still deadly.
What shall we say
about a woman who smokes or dips snuff? She stinks like a whore or a bar fly.
She is a filthy trashy walking dirt pile. Her skin is ghastly and pale. She has
to hate her children, for she is telling them that Mommy wants them to be smokers
one day. She deserves to die the horrible death of cancer, and the sooner the
better. Her death by the horror of lung or throat cancer might frighten her kids
so that they will not smoke. I have seen this happen more than once.
I want a girl,
Just like the girl,
Who
smoked with dear old Dad.
What do you think about these
mad dogs who tell their kids, "I don't want you to smoke like I do?"
How would that be different than a Daddy saying, "I don't want you to chase
whores like I do." One vice is no less deadly than the other.
Furthermore;
there is the cost of smoking. There is no other way of committing suicide which
is more financially destructive.
Analysis
shows smoking is a leading cause of fires and death from fires globally, resulting
in an estimated cost of nearly $7 billion in the United States and $27.2 billion
worldwide in 1998.
Research measures the total cost of smoking in
Ontario is US$2.91 billion. Associated with these economic costs are health-related
harms: 69,318 hospital separations; 1,007,647 days stay in hospitals; 11,648 deaths
resulting in more than 171,443 person-years lost.
The cost of smoking
in terms of healthcare at one Irish hostpial is estimated: the hospital's budget
was about £177 million per year, and about half the 500 to 600 patients were there
because of smoking.
Report: Smoking, tobacco costs Medicaid $12.9
billion annually Report measures the national Medicaid cost of smoking and tobacco
at $12.9 billion/year; more than the tobacco settlement payments will cover.
CDC
report; every pack of cigarettes costs $3.45 for medical care attributable to
smoking and $3.73 in productivity losses, for a total cost of $7.18 per pack.
The total cost of caring for people with health problems caused
by cigarette smoking is about $72.7 billion per year, according to health economists
at the University of California.
In 1994, smoking caused an estimated
44,000 male and 19,000 female U.S. deaths at ages 15-54, leaving 31,000 fatherless
and 12,000 motherless youths.
What a legacy that is!
And, as a non-smoker, I resent having to help pay for these fools' medical expenses.
I resent having to pay higher insurance fees because smokers like to burn their
homes down. Take your fags and go burn them on your own time please.
How
can one have victory over smoking? Just stop. Diabetics have to stop eating sugar
and starch. I have to limit my use of caffeine. We all learn to stop something
for health's sake. Tobacco use is always deadly, so if you are a born again Christian,
you will stop for the glory of God and as an example to the kids who watch you.
Ed Arnold smoked, and he did not think much about it. He was a leader
in a local church, and he smoked with moderation. One day he was walking downtown
and met a lady with her young son who were from his church. He was smoking at
the time. They greeted and visited for a few minutes, and then they parted. As
Ed walked away he heard the young boy say to his mother, "Mommy, smoking
must be OK. Uncle Ed smokes, and he is a good Christian." Ed quit cold turkey.
He decided that he did not want to be that kind of example and subvert that mother's
instruction to her son. Ed was not frightened of the health factors. He only quit
because he realized he was doing harm to a Christian home by his liberty. If that
were the only reason to quit smoking, it would be a very good reason.
1
Corinthians 8:10 For if any man see thee which hast knowledge sit at meat in the
idol's temple, shall not the conscience of him which is weak be emboldened to
eat those things which are offered to idols;
11 And through thy knowledge
shall the weak brother perish, for whom Christ died?
12 But when ye sin so
against the brethren, and wound their weak conscience, ye sin against Christ.
13 Wherefore, if meat make my brother to offend, I will eat no flesh while
the world standeth, lest I make my brother to offend.
Let
us suppose you grow you own tobacco with no tobacco company additives. And, you
smoke only a couple roll-your-owns a day. You feel safe and moderate in your liberty
to smoke. What if that Mom and her son knew you smoked, and what if the kid was
using you as his example and model for smoking? Would you quit smoking in order
to assist that Mom in ordering her home and raising her kids the way she believes
honors God? If not, you are in violent rebellion against New Testament teaching.
There are a thousand ways to amuse yourself that would be just as satisfying as
a couple cigarettes a day.
My uncle Bud smoked maybe maximum four
cigarettes a day. It was not a habit, and he smoked as a sort of moderate luxury.
When he stopped smoking it was without any fanfare or battle. He just stopped
reaching for the Marlboros. My aunt noticed that the cigarettes had laid untouched
for several weeks and asked uncle Bud about it. He told her that he was not very
excited about smoking anymore because he felt there was something to the health
question.
Let
us look at this and ask, "What would Jesus do?" I think that is a fair
question, that is, if you really are born again. Here is the scene-- It is late
in the day at Peter's home. Jesus has healed Peter's mother in law, and she is
now downstairs getting the evening meal ready. Many people during the day have
been healed, and many delivered of devils. Jesus is tired, and so is Peter. Jesus
turns to Peter and says, "Peter, we are both tired. Can we go up on your
roof patio and relax for a while before supper?" Peter says, "That's
a great idea Lord, and I will bring us a couple of cigars to enjoy as we watch
the sun go down." Jesus says, "_________."
What do
you think Jesus would say?
If you are truly born again, you have
seen the glory of God in Jesus Christ. The glory of God is all through the Bible
from Genesis One to Revelation Twenty Two. Have you looked into the face of Jesus?
Can you visualize tobacco juice all over Jesus' teeth? Can you smell the odor
of the tobacco habit on Jesus breath? When you walk up to the throne of God one
day, can you see YOU lighting up a fag and blowing smoke all around the throne
of God?
2
Corinthians 4:6 For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath
shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in
the face of Jesus Christ.
Is Jesus' glory shining in your
heart? Have you looked into his face and come away determined to be like him?
That is not the exception-- It is NORMAL Christianity, my friend. When you look
into Jesus face, do you want spit a chaw in the corner? Do you want to ask Jesus,
"Gotta light?"
You say, "I am born again, and I know
it. Anyway, smoking will not send a man to hell." I agree. But, it sure will
make you smell like that's where you came from. When you pass through the door
of death, and on the other side the first thing you see is a spittoon, friend,
you can mark it down-- You are in the wrong place.
Just stop smoking,
and stop whining about how addicted you are. Your big battle, with all the tricks
to stop smoking, shows the world that you are a stupid wimpy slave of sin and
don't really want to quit. If you really are born again, you have the power to
stop:
1
Chronicles 29:11 Thine, O LORD, is the greatness, and the power, and the glory,
and the victory, and the majesty: for all that is in the heaven and in the earth
is thine; thine is the kingdom, O LORD, and thou art exalted as head above all.
12 Both riches and honour come of thee, and thou reignest over all; and in
thine hand is power and might; and in thine hand it is to make great, and to give
strength unto all.
13 Now therefore, our God, we thank thee, and praise thy
glorious name.
So, you cannot quit smoking? Who is your
god anyway, Buddha, or the American Indian tobacco god, or is your god like Allah
and is out to lunch? Jesus, as we see above, is the head of all, and that means
he is the head of you, and it also means he is the head of tobacco. He created
it, as we saw above, to be a powerful and effective bio-degradable pesticide.
YOU are the one who perverted it, and Jesus has the power to get the tobacco weed
out of your mouth and lungs.
But,
you do have to decide to repent of your rebel line of Bull Durham, and ask Jesus
to cleanse you now.
He will, for he has the power to do so. There is NO bondage
Satan can get you into which Jesus is not able to break and deliver you. But,
Jesus will only help you if you WANT help.
Why do YOU smoke? What
a fool you are to kill yourself that way, and what a perfect jerk you are to dump
all that cash down a rat hole. Think of all the financial blessing you are missing.
Think of the cash you could send to missionaries. Are you even born again?
JUST
STOP IT