"MORAL ISSUES CONFRONTING CHRISTIANS"
Tobacco
INTRODUCTION
- Another moral issue confronting Christians is the consumption of
tobacco...
- In the form of smoking(cigarettes, cigars, pipes)
- Also smokeless tobacco (chew, snuff)
- In the past, the dangers of tobacco may have not been known...
- Prompting many (including Christians) to consider a harmless habit
- Even today some take it lightly
[But the evidence for the harmful effects of tobacco is now
overwhelming...]
- STATISTICS ON TOBACCO
- OVERALL MORTALITY...
- Tobacco use is the leading preventable cause of death in the
United States
- Cigarette smoking causes an estimated 438,000 deaths, about 1
of every 5 deaths, each year
- More deaths are caused each year by tobacco use than by all
deaths from human HIV, illegal drug use, alcohol use, motor
vehicle injuries, suicides, and murders combined
- On average, adults who smoke cigarettes die 14 years earlier
than nonsmokers
-- Centers For Disease Control Prevention (updated September 2006)
- MORTALITY FROM SPECIFIC DISEASES...
- Lung cancer: 123,800 deaths; other cancers: 34,700 deaths
- Chronic lung disease: 90,600 deaths; coronary heart disease:86,800 deaths
- Stroke: 17,400 deaths; other diagnoses: 84,600 deaths
-- These figures are per year - Ibid.
- EFFECTS OF SECOND HAND SMOKE...
- Secondhand smoke exposure causes heart disease and lung cancer
in nonsmoking adults
- It causes approximately 3,400 lung cancer deaths and 22,700-69,600 heart disease deaths annually among adult nonsmokers in
the United States
- It causes respiratory symptoms in children and slows their lung
growth
- It causes sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), acute
respiratory infections, ear problems, and more frequent and
severe asthma attacks in children
- Almost 60% of U.S. children aged 3-11 years-or almost 22
million children-are exposed to secondhand smoke
- There is no risk-free level of secondhand smoke exposure - even
brief exposure can be dangerous
-- Ibid.
- OTHER FORMS OF TOBACCO USE...
- Pipe smoking and cigar smoking increase the risk of dying from
cancers of the lung, esophagus, larynx, and oral cavity
- Smokeless tobacco contains 28 cancer-causing agents
(carcinogens)
- Smokeless tobacco use increases the risk for developing oral
cancer
- Adolescents who use smokeless tobacco are more likely to become
cigarette smokers
-- Ibid.
[In view of such evidence of the harmful effects of tobacco use, there
are very good reasons...]
- WHY CHRISTIANS SHOULD ABSTAIN
- THE EFFECT ON OUR BODIES...
- Remember what the Bible teaches
- Our bodies are the temple of the Holy Spirit - 1Co 6:19
- Our bodies have been bought, and are not our own - 1Co
6:19-20
- Our bodies are to glorify God - 1Co 6:20
- Our bodies are instruments by which we serve God - Ro
12:1-2; 6:13,19
- Thus our bodies are a reflection of our stewardship
- We are all stewards of God's manifold grace - 1Pe 4:10
- Our duty is to be faithful in what has been given us - 1Co
4:2
- We shall be judged by how we used what has been given us
- Lk 16:10-12
- What if someone borrowed what is yours and misused it (e.g.,
your car)?
-- Years cut short by tobacco are lost opportunities to serve and
glorify God
- THE EFFECT ON OTHERS...
- Hurting, even killing them through second-hand smoke
- Burdening family financially with hospital bills left behind
- Depriving family of your presence as spouse, parent,
grand-parent
- Impoverishing the church and society of our talents and service
-- Is slowly killing yourself and harming others showing love, or
selfishness?
- THE EFFECT ON OUR INFLUENCE...
- We are role models, for our faith is spoken of by others - cf.
Ro 1:8; 16:19
- We influence others for good or ill
- Can we say what Paul did about following one's example? - cf.
Php 3:17
- Do we consider the effect it has on saving others? - cf. 1Co
10:31-33
-- Does tobacco help or hinder our efforts to share Christ with
others?
CONCLUSION
- The harmful effects of tobacco have been clearly established...
- The scientific evidence is overwhelming
- Even our bodies tell us by the way they react to smoke
- Christians have ample reason to abstain...
- For health reasons
- For spiritual reasons
For those addicted to nicotine, stopping may not be easy. But I trust
we have seen that one should make every effort to rid themselves of this
habit that can destroy both body and soul...