Pleasing God, Not Men. · May 15, 12:25 AM
On several occasions as I’ve gone outside to smoke a cigarette or two, I’ve had the distinct impression that God was pleased with me. Now is it because of the fact that I was smoking? I don’t claim to know that, but doesn’t it seem odd that God created the tobacco plant? As far as I know there is no reason for tobacco and the only use that can be derived from it is smoking. I know that I definitely am filled with pleasure when smoking a cigarette.
Whatever the case, God created pleasure in this world, and he also created an everlasting man, or at least that’s the belief that I’ve drawn from the bible. I wonder if perhaps smoking were to be a pastime for man, a social matter. After all, if man were immortal would not cancer have been a non-issue? These thoughts of course are no less irrelevant after all, because we live in a fallen world in which we are not immortal and smoking does harm our bodies, so on to the next musing.
I think that lately I’ve been feeling God’s pleasure in many more things than I used to. When I go out to smoke a cigarette, I light up, pop my MD (mountain dew) and walk out into a brisk air. The wind suddenly picks up and blows into me, through me. I feel alive. I feel…as if God himself purposely planned that that gust of wind should blow at the exact time at which I walked onto the porch, and I know at that moment that God is pleased. Not because I’m smoking the cigarette, or because I’m drinking the MD, but simply because I’m enthralled with his creation: the wind and the cigarette, the dark sky and the churning trees. He delights in my delighting of him, and that sets me to delighting all over once again.
I was recently talking to a friend about how I feel as a smoker. How I feel segregated and frowned upon. She replied that she understood and she herself (although she isn’t a smoker) was disgusted with the disdain that others felt at second-hand smoke. She maintained that her mother and father had both been smokers, and that her mother had been ashamed of what others thought of her. At one point, the pastor of their church was visiting with the mother and father, and the mother mentioned that she felt ashamed. The pastor replied that in his opinion, smoking would never send her to hell but that it might get her to heaven a little faster. She of course laughed at this and at least in my mind she felt at peace, knowing that although she had been unable to conquer the addiction in her life, she was still in good standing with the Lord.
All this to say that in my life no man’s opinion is weightier than my father’s in heaven. What pleases my God pleases me. This is what I strive for. I strive to please God, that I may be pleased in turn.
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Excellent John… I think all smokers should have the opportunity to read this. It’s hard for us sometimes having to always deal with people saying “you should quit… you have to quit… you know smoking kills you”. I needed to hear what you had to say!
— Clare · May 16, 08:56 AM · #
You know, many ancient cultures smoked different plants as part of their rituals and social communication. Maybe the problem is not so much in smoking a plant, but in all of the artifical and addictive chemicals that the manufactures put into them. (I remember Grandpa Moore used to roll his own cigarettes – it might be healthier – but then again – he beat the rest of us to Heaven.)
By the way, in the Middle Eastern culture they smoke fruits. They use a hooka and smoke apples, etc. There are actually a few middle eastern restaurants in Miami that offer fruit tabacco and hookas, although I haven’t yet tried it.
— Smileysarah · May 16, 08:57 AM · #
Upon more thought I felt I should add this… the problem with smoking is not that you’ll go to Hell, or get to Heaven sooner. It lies in the fact that it can hurt those you love the most. If second hand smoke does cause cancer, you obviously don’t want your children to breath it. And also, you don’t want to cause undue pain and sorrow to your family members by them having to watch you go through long, drawn out suffering and death. (Like what happened with Grandpa Moore)
— Smileysarah · May 16, 09:01 AM · #
True. When I read the book Captivating by John and Stacy Eldredge, I was kind of hesitant to like it. The reason wasn’t because it wasn’t a great book for women, but just that by the end I actually felt a little jealous. It seemed to me that they were making out women to be much more then men. As I thought about it though, I realized that the point of the book was to lift up women, not to lift up men. They weren’t unfair to men at all, they were just trying to reach out to women and lift up their spirits.
In the same way I feel like I wrote this post to share with other smokers what I’ve experienced in my journey. One should never feel guilty for smoking. If you are respectful of those around you, and are cautious with where and when you’re smoking, then there is no reason you should feel guilty. As far as family goes, it’s true that you could bring pain to your friends and family by getting cancer and dying. But compare that with growing old and dying, or getting shot and dying. In reality it’s all the same pain and it’s bound to happen, the bible says that God has planned the day we were to be born and the day we are to die. As long as one loves God with all of ones heart, then God will make changes in that persons life to better suit His plan.
— Johnthemusician · May 16, 02:45 PM · #