Is Smoking a Sin?
Many Christians are under the impression that Smoking is a sin. I would like to take a balanced approach to this subject.
First let me give the disclaimer: I am not advocating nor giving you permission to do any of the items that I mention in this article. I cannot make choices for you, God doesn’t even do that. I’ll write and you make your own decisions based on the knowledge you have and your own personal convictions.
Remember my guidelines for discovering whether or not something is pleasing to God.
- Do you control it, or does is control you?
- Do you do it in excess?
- What does the Bible actually say about it?
- Does it bother your conscience (or the Holy Spirit) when you do it?
- Have you prayed about it?
First off we need to establish the fact that a habit can be either good or bad. It is something that you are accustomed to doing daily. Smoking is habit forming but so is junk food eating. Habits can control you or you can control them.
I submit to you that smoking is no more of a sin than constantly eating junk food every day.
Let’s compare a cigarette to junk food
Here are the reasons I do not smoke:
- 1. It is bad for my health, it’s a proven fact.
- 2. The cost is too much, I could use the extra money for something else
- 3. Bad breath
- 4. 2nd hand smoke- It could be offensive to others
Here are the reasons I am not a junk food addict:
- 1. It’s bad for my health; it doesn’t take a genius to figure that out.
- 2. The cost is too much, the cost for a cola, potato chips & candy bar is over $3.00
- 3. I’ll probably get fat.
- 4. Fat people- They could be offensive to others, especially in other Countries. The U.S.A is the fattest country on the planet.
So is smoking a sin? I am not going to pass neither condemnation nor judgment upon a smoker, but here are the facts:
- · Is it healthy? No
- · Is it a smart investment? No
- · Does it help my appearance? No
- · Does it motivate or encourage others? No
So is constantly eating junk food a sin? The same facts that I stated above also apply to junk food addicts, so at this point, I would probably be just as likely to say that constant snacking is just as much of a sin as smoking if you want to call smoking a sin. What do you think?
To sum up the question of “Is smoking a sin?” Smoking is no more of a sin than having to have your daily dose of junk food. Now you be the judge for your personal habits.















I agree but would go further. Being overweight in general is the same as smoking. Being over weight causes more health risks than smoking! For this alone I would not say eating junk food but simply being severely over weight (30 lbs or more).
Neither are a sin. But both are not beneficial.
P.S. I am over weight.
Brian,
Thanks for the balanced comment! I really appreciate the honest feedback.
I agree with you. I think that some people in the church picking out smoking as a sin and then serving high-fat junk food after the sermon is hypocritical. Division over this kind of thing can be dangerous to our fellowship as Christians. If one is a sin, I don’t see how the other is not also. I personally don’t see either as a sin, just a choice that we each make. We have to be careful not to let what society says is acceptable or unacceptable not define what is and is not a sin. I don’t advocate either behavior – both are not good for you.