TOBACCO by Dave Brown

Nicotine is among one of the worlds most addictive drugs as well as being one of its deadliest poisons. Cigarettes are the only legal product on the market which are absolutely guaranteed to be damaging to the customer's health when used as directed.

Biblical directives with regard to the use of such a drug is quite definitive: "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? For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's" (1 Cor. 6:19-20).

Specifically, 1 Cor. 6:19-20 is referring to the misuse of the body for fornication. However, the similarity between fornication and drug use is apparent -- both are indulgences to attain immediate gratification in self-destructive abuses of the body. The principle applies to anything which might injure us or ruin our health.

The principle of taking care of our bodies so that we can better use them to God's glory applies to ANY self-destructive behavior. Those who do not smoke or drink alcoholic beverages should recognize that many other foods and medicines can be abused by over-indulgence. However, tobacco and alcoholic beverages by their very nature are both inherently destructive and addictive.

If you are enslaved to tobacco, the solution begins with the total commitment to beat this addiction. Different people have succeeded in different ways, and it might take many attempts before you are successful. The most important thing, however, is to resolve to seek God's help, and to allow Him to assist in this most difficult endeavor.

If you have never lit up a cigarette, DON'T! Recognize: The worst possible consequences of this behavior occur if you enjoy it. You don't want to enjoy it, so leave it alone.
Author's personal note: when I was a freshman in college, and before I became a Christian, I tried smoking for a couple weeks. The smoke burned my eyes while I was trying to study, I woke up with a terrible taste in my mouth, I could not taste my food right, I realized that I smelled terrible to some people, and it was costing me money that I could not affort. Then I realized: "if I keep this up, there is a good chance that I will not be able to stop this torturing of myself." I thought about it and concluded that this was one of the stupidest things that I had ever done. There is not a smoker that I know today who would not quit if s/he could.