Is Smoking a Sin?

I was asked the other day; "is smoking a sin?"

A: No! I have yet to find a scripture that says, "Thou shalt not smoke Marlboro, or any other cigarette, thus saith me (the Lord)"

Now I am sure there are people out there who will say, "the bible does says that our bodies are the temple of the holy spirit and ... ya da ya da..." And yes you are correct! And I agree with what that verse says! The question is; are we really obedient to it? But the question was - is smoking a SIN? And if you are going to say yes on the basis of the harm smoking inflicts on the health of "your temple", then NOT exercising is a SIN, Coffee is a SIN, Ding Dongs are for sure a HUGE SIN! NO more Krispy Kreme for you! Oh, "but that is different Timmy!" No it is not!

We as Christians are often accused of being hypocrites ... and you know what, we are ... and for this very reason. We say stupid stuff like, "if you want to be a Christian you must first stop smoking ... because it is a sin to smoke."

Now, maybe you are wondering ... "Timmy do you smoke?" Nope, remember I am a health nut ... so I tend to stay away from anything and everything that is bad for me. (at least I try to) Though I do have the occasional cigar with my buddies (but you do not inhale cigar smoke ... at least I don't ... I am not that tough!)

My only issue with smoking is the harm it is to your health ... if you are a grandparent, father, mother, friend, child ... why would you do something that is definitely going to shorten your life, or at least it will affect the quality of your life? But that's just me! I want to not only live a long time, but I want to be ALIVE while I am living.

Disclaimer: Of course this blog entry is not in anyway condoning smoking! I am totally against smoking. But it's not a sin, it won't send you to hell ... you'll just smell like you've been there! Ha! (sorry, couldn't resist! Old church joke!)