300 Pounds of Opposition to Smoking

Ah, smoking, that favorite whipping boy of the Fundamental, independent Baptist! That vile habit that destroys the body and subjugates the spirit, that corrupts our youth as it clogs the air with its vile exhaust, that exposes our adulterous friendship with the things of this world and our utter lack of devotion to the God who saved us! How dare we desecrate the very temples of the Holy Spirit of God, defiling the merchandise God bought with His own blood?

Where would we be without such an easy target to rail against? It's addictive, and it's destructive. The purveyors of the product have been proven liars, peddling deceptively a product they knew to be deadly. It snares children and kills thousands. Those in bondage to it are there because they don't realize their bodies are the temples of the Holy Spirit of God, don't care who owns them, or don't have the self-discipline to act on that knowledge and caring.

It feels like a risky target - after all, so many people smoke. The industry behind it is enormous. So we feel bold when we attack it. Yet we know our moral ground is unassailable when we do so. Of course, it helps that even many who smoke don't want to be smoking and that public opinion is really pretty strongly against the big tobacco companies, and no-smoking laws are being passed for enclosed public areas all over. It helps when we know that pretty much our whole audience, even the ones who do smoke or have smoked, would agree that it's bad. Yeah, it takes a bit of nerve to take a stand against something so pervasive, and there are people who will get offended by it - but on the whole, it's a pretty safe place to be bold.

But who is being bold? Who is taking the stand? Often, it's a 300-pound man who should weigh 180, sweating his way through the sermon, out of breath if he runs across the platform. There is a terrible hypocrisy here. If our bodies are truly the temple of the Holy Spirit of God (they are!), and if we shouldn't abuse that which God has placed in our care (we shouldn't!), and if we should have the self-control to live what we know and believe about this (we should!), then why aren't the preachers obligated to live to the same standard?

We have every right and responsibility to proclaim that addictions are dangerous and wrong for the believer. That includes nicotine. We ought not be under the power of anything but the Holy Spirit of God. But why does caffeine get a pass? Because it's more socially acceptable to NEED a cup of coffee in the morning to act human than it is to need a cigarette?

We ought not destroy or bring careless damage to that which belongs to God. Our bodies belong to Him. But why is it okay to slam cigarettes... while eating ourselves into an early grave? Because smoking is fashionable to preach against, while gluttony is the norm?

We ought to have the self-discipline to live out what we believe about belonging to God and discipleship to Jesus Christ in practical ways. That means being willing to not take the easy path in life, to give up something that may seem comfortable or pleasant now for the sake of eternity. Why can we criticize those who don't exercise the self-control to put down the cigarettes... but not go out and exercise these bodies God has given us to use for Him? I know that bodily exercise profits little and that godliness is far more important. Yet an unfit body hardly displays godliness, and it hardly shows that it's kept under and brought into subjection. I'm not saying every preacher should be an All-American athlete - I'm saying we should be good stewards of what the Lord has placed in our care.

Am I saying we should cease preaching against smoking, dipping, chewing, or any other means people court cancer through tobacco? Absolutely not. The principles for preaching against it are sound and Scriptural. But I'm challenging any preacher who speaks against tobacco to be sure his hearers can tell he's living a life of self-discipline and stewardship - or expect to be called rightfully a hypocrite.

After all, is our goal to turn people from one sin, or to lead them in freedom from addiction and disciplined devotion to the Lord who bought us with His blood?



P.S. Lest I seem righteous in myself, rather than in the grace and power of God... it's only been a bit over three months since I sought Him earnestly enough to lay aside my own vile, ease-and-pleasure-centered habit. There have been a few stumbles, but even the last of those was weeks in the past. Christ gets the credit. In myself, I'm no better than any four-pack-a-day chimney.