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THE
NEW LIFE by
John Marshall
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Chapter
6 • A DANGEROUS
WORLD
Smoking
Good as some of these groups can be, they can induce one to
take up undesirable habits. They can start a brother or a
sister on the way to becoming a confirmed smoker. Most people
smoke, so it seems odd not to join in. There never was a flimsier
reason than this for starting to smoke, nor would there be
better evidence of weakness of character!
Apart from the expense which in relation to the income of
the young can be considerable, there is no benefit in smoking.
Every athlete, amateur or professional, who takes his pursuit
seriously, is either a non-smoker or abstains while training
for a special event. And it is now proven that smoking can
cause lung cancer and contribute to other diseases.
The nicotine stain on one's fingers can be obliterated by
a pumice stone or some such means, but the nicotine deposit
can hardly be eradicated from one's lungs except by extended
abstention and treatment. And so many smokers do not realize
that they exemplify the uncleanness of the habit by the foulness
of their breath!
To smoke or not to smoke would probably never be decided by
argument. Rather, one who lives in Christ has to ask, "Could
I justify it to Jesus?" And can one do as Paul advised
young Timothy: ". . . keep thyself pure" and smoke?
Alcohol
How easy it is, and with what a sense of comradeship (it seems)
can one join one's friends in a group for a few drinks. Or
to join them at an inn or a public house. What harm is there,
provided one is temperate? Did not Paul advise the young Timothy
to "use a little wine for thy stomach's sake and thine
oft infirmities"?
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References
Tim 5v22, 1 Tim 5v23
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Chapter
6 • A DANGEROUS WORLD
The trouble with drinking is that it is not in the nature of the
young, generally, to be temperate. And drink clouds the mind and
one's judgment; it over-stimulates the senses and weakens self-control.
A motor-car can be an instrument of death in the hands of someone
who drinks to excess.
Dependent too on one's physical and mental constitution drink can
arouse merriment in some and bad temper in others. The most violent
quarrels sometimes occur in public houses, or "beer gardens".
Paul used a phrase which aptly described the weakness of will which
can be caused by drinking: "Be not drunk with wine, wherein
is excess . . " Young's Concordance gives the meaning of the
word drunk (methusko) as "To begin to be softened!" J.
B. Phillips translates the whole sentence: "Don't get your
stimulus from wine (for there is always the danger of excessive
drinking) but let the Spirit stimulate your souls." How much
greater is such a spiritual stimulus and what great rewards arise
from it!
It is not so much that we should never touch wine and the like,
but the company, the place and the dangers must ever be in our minds.
"Keep a watch on yourselves; do not let your minds be dulled
by dissipation and drunkenness and worldly cares so that the great
Day closes upon you suddenly like a trap; for that day will come
on all men, wherever they are, the whole world over. Be on the alert,
praying at all times for strength to pass safely through all these
imminent troubles and to stand in the presence of the Son of Man."
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References
Eph 5v18, Luke 21v34-36 NEB
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