Has Your Influence Gone Up In Smoke?
08-02-02

A noted lecturer was in Paris some years ago and met a man who had some very tiny dogs for sale. The lecturer asked the man how he ever bred the dogs down to such an abnormally small size.

At first the man would not answer the question, no doubt fearing that his secret would be divulged or that the lecturer would become a business competitor. When he was convinced the gentleman was only inquiring because of a desire for knowledge, the breeder revealed his method for producing his tiny dogs.

"You see, I put a little speck of nicotine in their food when they are quite young. Then I add a little more, and little more, and then they never get big." "But doesn’t the nicotine ever kill them?" the lecturer asked. "Oh yes, many of them die; but I get a big price for the little fellows that live."

You would think accounts such as the above would motivate everyone to quit putting nicotine into their body, yet everyday millions either light-up, dip, or chew. What is even more puzzling is that many who claim to be Christians are among them. This poses a question: Is a Christian who uses tobacco products for non-medicinal purposes pleasing to God? Or more applicably, will the Lord say to him, "Well done, good and faithful servant" in spite of his tobacco use?

The Christian who use tobacco products can be assured of being pleasing to God, only if God is not concerned about that Christian’s influence on others. What influences an individual to smoke, dip, or chew the first time? It is most likely the influence of others. It may be from a desire to be like those beautiful people in the advertisements, or maybe to be like a family member or friend. There is nothing in our genetic makeup that causes us to put a piece of smoldering paper packed with a dried leaf into our mouth and suck the smoke into our lungs. We must be influenced to do so. When a Christian smokes, he becomes an influence to others to smoke, and God is concerned about the Christian’s influence. Jesus said that Christians are to be a light to the world and salt of the earth (Matthew 5:13-15). He also said that it would be better to have a large stone placed around one’s neck and be cast into the sea than to influence the young to sin (Matthew 18:6). The Christian’s actions should shine as a light to man, and as a glory to God (Matthew 5:16). Ask yourself this: Will the Christian who smokes draw others to Christ by his or her actions, or will the Christian who smokes cause others to say, "There goes another hypocrite."

Just like the nicotine stunted their growth and often killed the little puppies, tobacco products used by the Christian can stunt or possibly destroy the faith of the immature. For the reason of its influence alone, the faithful Christian must abstain from the use of tobacco products.