Brethren in Slavery

W. Carl Ketcherside

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     Thousands of professed followers of the Messiah are ensnared in an evil bondage of their own making and are helpless victims of an insidious habit which may doom them to a premature death. Like a modern demon, their bodies are possessed of a cruel unnatural desire which drives them relentlessly on regardless of cost in health or money. Even worse, their sense of reason becomes so twisted and warped that they actually seek to defend and protect the killer which fastens its fangs in their vitals, and become angry and vicious when their slavery is mentioned. Many, for example, will pass on to their innocent children the same fetters, and will see them locked in the same handcuffs of despair.

     Cigarette smoking is catering to a physical craving or lust. It satisfies no real hunger, furnishes no necessary element, and offers no genuine satisfaction. Nicotine is a narcotic and the habitual user is a drug addict who becomes weak, trembling, and even nauseated when deprived of it. It drives men to despair when they do not have it, and to extreme lengths to obtain it. A man who is too tired to visit a next door neighbor who is ill will walk three blocks in a blizzard to secure a pack of cigarettes. Some will take their last cent to buy tobacco even though there is no milk in the house for their babies. They will allow their debts to run on interminably while they blow their money out through their nostrils!

     Tobacco users frequently lose their sense of respect or modesty. Their insatiable craving forces them to forget or ignore a sense of decency. Not long ago, in a southern state, I visited a congregation, the members of which thought they constituted "the faithful church." They were arrogant, hateful and haughty in their denunciation of congregations which taught little children the word of the Lord in Bible classes. Before we had talked very long every man in the group had lighted a cigarette in the meeting house, and was sucking and puffing away, in between quoting the scriptures and making sarcastic remarks about the brethren. They claimed to be the last vestige of hope to deliver the rest of the religious world from error, but "While they promise them liberty, they themselves are the servants of corruption: for of whom a man is overcome, of the same is he brought in bondage" (2 Peter .2:19).

     Nicotine is a poison, a deadly poison! Only the ignorant or prejudiced will argue otherwise in the face of facts. Men will hide rat poison and put other deadly potions Out of reach of their little children, but they will leave cigarettes lying about the house, and blow smoke into the faces of their babies. This insensate unconcern by those who are gullible stooges for the propaganda of huge tobacco trusts is bad enough on the part of those who are worldly and indifferent to the Christ, but it is the height of folly

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for those who claim that the Spirit of God dwells in them. Who can visualize the Son of God with a "Lucky Strike" hanging out of the corner of his mouth?

     It is not to be expected that what we say here will register seriously with the average member of the congregation of God who is enslaved. I am not so naive as to suppose that many will be influenced by what I write when the cravings of lust tug and twitch at every fiber of their flesh. But I want to be free from their blood, and I will not see them commit a slow and painful suicide without speaking my sentiments. They will not be made free because they do not will to be free! They will deny this but it is true. It has long ago been proven that a man will be what he wills to be. Those who possess the character and will power can climb to any height!

     We are past that time when weak men can argue that use of tobacco does no harm. Recently I was in a hospital all day. I saw them wheel three shrouded figures into surgery. With their agonized families I awaited their return. I saw doctors and nurses fight to keep the spark of life glowing after the shock sustained when their bodies were cut almost half across. I saw wives and children weeping, and looked into the frightened faces of little grandchildren who were awed by the strange surroundings. Every one of the three men had a lung cut out because a cancer was gnawing away at the vital organ. The surgeon said they were three more of a fast growing multitude of human sacrifices at the shrine of the great god, Nicotine. The next day one died with a bloody froth bubbling out of his nostrils. The other two were more fortunate.

     Two months ago a group of seven scientists published a report that "Scientific evidence establishes beyond reasonable doubt that cigarette smoking is a causative factor in the rapidly increasing incidence of lung cancer." These men are not fanatics, killjoys, or moralists. The group was appointed last June at the suggestion of the American Cancer Society, the American Heart Association, the National Cancer Institute and the National Heart Institute to review the effects of tobacco smoking on health.

     Here is a statement from their report. "Lung cancer occurs much more frequently (5 to 15 times) among cigarette smokers than among nonsmokers, and there is a direct relationship between the incidence of lung cancer and the amount smoked.... It is estimated that on a lifetime basis, one of every 10 men who smoke over two packs a day will die of lung cancer. The comparable risk among nonsmokers is estimated at one out of 275."

     I am a grandfather. I have three little grandchildren. They are everything to me in this world. Nothing has ever meant more to me than to have their baby arms about my neck, and to hear the word "Granddaddy" from their lips. I have never smoked but if I had done so in the past, I would quit immediately. I would not want one of these sweet innocent little ones to take up smoking because I smoked, for if the time came when one of them was wheeled into the hospital room to have a lung slit out because of cancer, and I knew that I was responsible, I would never breathe an easy breath again. They may smoke cigarettes when they grow up--God forbid!--but they will never point an accusing finger at their grandfather as their excuse for doing so.

     It is for that reason I would not appoint a man as bishop or elder who was a slave to tobacco and a drug addict. We are told to "abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul' (1 Peter 2:11). No man can "watch for your souls, as they that must give account" (Heb. 13:17) who indulges in a habit that wars against his own soul. A bishop must first take heed unto himself and then to the flock. He is to be an example to the flock (1 Peter 5:3). I do not want a man as an example to my children or grandchildren who is so weak he cannot control his appetite. If a man know not how to rule his own body, how shall he take care of the body of Christ?

     All the reasons assigned for smoking are puerile, silly and futile when mea-

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sured by the standard of the Nazarene. At the root of the trouble is the fact that modern "Christianity is weak, saturated, and watered down, filled with compromise and worldliness. Our brethren could no longer face lions in the Roman arena. They can't even whip a "Camel." They are afraid to be thought different. They do not set a standard for the world, they follow the one set by the world. They cannot endure the ridicule, sarcasm and derision of their associates. The salt has lost its strength; the leaven has forfeited its power. Men will damn their souls to have others think well of them.

     Men can quit the tobacco habit! Thousands have gained a victory over the weed. We can do all things through Christ who strengthens us. But one must be fully convinced of the evil effects accruing from the habit. He must recognize that it will be in the interest of health, happiness and spiritual influence to stop it. It is not a task for moral cowards or spiritual weaklings. It cannot be done by "cutting down" or "tapering off." That is like cutting off a dog's tail an inch at a time to make it easier on the dog. Doctors who advise their patients to "cut down" want to coddle them and keep their good will--and get their money!

     There is just one way to get the job done! Pray to God for strength, rely on the Holy Spirit for inner fortitude, and make a vow to God never to inhale another "coffin nail." Your mind will become clearer, your breath sweeter, your taste purer and your appreciation of life much keener. We pray for all of the victims of this slavery. We want to see them gain deliverance. It can be done through the help of Jesus. "If the Son shall set you free, then are you free indeed."