Should A CHRISTIAN smoke?

Honestly speaking and by the way I was brought up, I would say no.

If you're Christian or you have a bible with you even if you're non-Christian, you might want to look at 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 (My version is the NIV).

It goes like this:

"Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore, honor God with your body."

This two verses stemmed from a passage about sexual immorality. But I think it applies to everything else that can bring harm to your body.

And it so happened that for DG (Discipleship Group) today, the study I was leading, Christian Service, used this verse as one of it's references.

I mean, look at the way society (or the Church) views drugs (the illegal ones lah). Even homosexuality is such a hot topic. It's a definite no-no for most people. But smoking? I've seen Christians smoke but never heard anything or seen anything that strongly advises us against doing so.

Look, cigarettes contain nicotine. It's a well-known fact. Isn't nicotine a drug too? And how about the many thousands of poisonous chemicals contained within cigarettes? Tar? Arsenic? (In fact, somebody just died of poisoning from it, some famous political writer, can't remember his name...) If suicide is bad in God's eyes, shouldn't smoking be too? Isn't kind of like doing a slow suicide?

I feel that if a Christian calls himself that (ie Christian), he or she would have made the decision to believe. And to believe means that we are no longer the centre of our own lives but Christ is. So shouldn't we follow the rules as closely as we can? Especially if we're doing something that is potentially life-threatening?

Well, if I was in a position of being asked to smoke, I will just say, "Sorry, I'm Christian, I can't smoke."


(NB: entry edited in consideration of my friend.)