Please Never Smoke Cigarettes

1st Corinthians 3:16-18, “Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you? If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are. Let no man deceive himself. If any man among you seemeth to be wise in this world, let him become a fool, that he may be wise.”

I admit that 1st Corinthians 3:17 is a difficult Scripture passage to interpret. It appears to teach that God Himself will inflict infectious diseases, suffering, pain or even death upon individuals who abuse their health. I cannot be dogmatic, but my humble opinion is that God has made our bodies in such a way that if we don't take care of them, bad things start to happen. I don't think our text passage is saying that it you commit fornication, God will cause you to get hit by a speeding Mack truck! If that were true, then we should have been dead long ago.

I humbly think that the Bible is simply teaching that as saints our body belongs to God. 1st Corinthians 6:20, “For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's.” As believers, our BODY, SOUL and SPIRIT belong to our blessed God, Creator and Savior! So if we foolishly defile God's temple (our fleshly body), God will give us over to our own foolishness to destroy ourselves. Again, I mentioned that this passage is rather difficult to understand, because we don't know exactly in WHAT WAY will God destroy the body.

At the church of Corinth in Greece, there was a Christian man living in fornication with a woman in the church. The Apostle Paul received word in another city what was going on, and it disturbing him that the church elders in Corinth weren't doing anything about it. So Paul writes to the church and admonishes them to confront the man, and ask him to either stop living in open sin or else he needs to leave. But notice what Paul says in 1st Corinthians 5:5 we read, “To deliver such an one unto Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus.” I think this is what 1st Corinthians 3:17 means. The best way to interpret the Bible is with THE BIBLE! When we choose to live in sin—whether it be sexual sins, abusing our health with substances, et cetera—in time those potentially destructive things will cause us to reap what we have sown.

God could have made our bodies to stay healthy even if we neglect our health, but He didn't do that. If we eat too much and become obese, then Type II diabetes develops. Diabetes is called The Silent Killer for a good reason, because you can have it and there won't be any signs until it is too late (blindness, kidney failure, stroke, et cetera). High blood sugar is dangerous!

I do believe that the A.I.D.S. epidemic is God's judgment upon homosexuality and other sexual sins, just as gonorrhea, syphilis and other horrible Sexually transmitted Diseases (STD's). Famous gangster, Al Capone (1899-1947) was only age 48 when he died in 1947. Capone's infamous legacy of terror on the streets of Chicago during the alcohol Prohibition Era (1919-1933), only lasted for 7 years. That's right, just 7 years. And get this, Al Capone was only in his mid twenties when he was on top of the world as top gangster #1.

Capone was finally arrested at age 33 and sent to prison for tax evasion, but already had contracted the horrible sexual disease syphilis, which was literally eating holes in his brain in prison. The miracle cure of Penicillin wasn't invented until 1939 by the U.S. military, but it came too late to remedy the infamous crime boss. It is intriguing to me how young some of the most famous outlaws in history were. Billy The Kid (1859-1881) was infamous for his long list of crimes (which sadly pales in comparison to criminal youth today across America). Billy The Kid was shot to death at only age 22! That is so sad and tragic.

Likewise, smoking tobacco is a sure way to die earlier than God intended. I THANK GOD that I have never smoked a cigarette. I have never tried beer. I have never taken a toke of marihuana. By God's grace I have never tried illegal drugs. I don't know what cocaine is like, or heroin, or methamphetamine. I get high on music! I don't walk with shady friends. You would be much better off having no friends at all, than to keep bad friends who will get you into trouble.

My Mom and Dad were married for 36 years, until my Mom went to Heaven in 2001. She died of sepsis, an infection to the entire body. By the time she died, she had both legs amputated, failing kidneys, a failing liver, a heart attack, diabetes, high blood pressure, et cetera. She suffered so much over the years in pain and misery. My Mom smoked like a chimney, which wreaked havoc on her health. She told me that at age 15 she started smoking a half of a cigarette per day. In 1989 at age 53 she had a crippling stroke, to the entire left side of her body. She could no longer use her left hand to play the lower octave notes on the piano. It was so sad to watch her play piano with just her right hand. As Merle Haggard sang, “Mama tried.”

When I attended the International Steel Guitar Convention (ISGC) in 1995, I watched the famous steel artist Speedy West flop his hand around on the steel guitar, as it clanged and sounded like pots and pans falling in the kitchen sink. Speedy was a chain smoker his entire life, which caused him to suffer a crippling stroke. He so much desired to continue playing the steel guitar, but he had foolishly sacrificed his health on the altar of enjoying the pleasure of a nicotine addiction. I HATE the evil cigarette companies, and so should you!!!

As Speedy flopped his his around, I saw another famous steel player, Jimmy Day (who played live with Elvis Presley at barn yard dances down in Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas in the 1950's) cry. Jimmy Day cried seeing his long time musician friend trying to play the steel guitar earnestly, but his health was gone. So sad and tragic, and totally unnecessary. Nothing will ruin your health as fast as cigarettes! 

Please don't ever smoke. If God had intended for humans to inhale burning plants into our lungs, then He would have put out a chimney up on top of our head, but the good Lord didn't do that. Remember, smoking won't send you to Hell, it will just make you smell like you've been there...lol. May we all be wise to take care of the miraculous body which God has blessed us with. Psalms 139:14, “I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvellous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well.”