Smoking Addiction

It’s a dirty habit and a deadly habit. And it’s an addiction — legally promoted, government subsidized, and widely advertised. It’s costly. The average price per pack of cigarettes in the U.S. is $6.03, but the health-related costs per pack are $35, according to the American Cancer Society. Over a year, those added costs can amount to $12,775 for a pack-a-day smoker. It causes one-third of all heart attacks and raises the risks of 14 kinds of cancer. That should end the argument for any Christian who smokes, without even looking at the repulsive pictures above. Worldwide it kills 100 million annually, and by the end of the century it will kill one billion! A lot of attention has been given this week to this issue as America commemorates the 50th anniversary of the Surgeon General’s Report that starting turning the tide against tobacco’s dangers.

And yes it can be compelled by a demon. I know, I’m an exorcist. The demon usually doesn’t go by the name of Smoking, though I have encountered that garden-variety demon, but it generally calls itself by the names Addiction or Death. To be clear, smoking isn’t itself a demon, but a demon can attach to or facilitate the habit. Satan is in the business of killing and destroying (John 10:10) and what better way to do it. Sadly, in my early days of ministry I preached in Southern Baptist churches in the tobacco-belt and watched deacons light up on the front steps after the Sunday morning sermon. Things are a bit more enlightened now, but the biggest problem with Christians, especially in the south (including a lot of born-again Texans), is chew, which is just as bad and just as demonic.

The pictures above of chewers say it all. If you smoke or chew, you definitely have an addiction and you could have a demon. Get deliverance and trade in your Marlboro Man for a Newly Delivered Man in Christ.

An encouraging word:  HONOR YOUR WORD

Scripture tells us that God blesses a man who speaks the truth and honors his word, even when it is hard to do so (Psalm 15:4 “keeps his oath even when it hurts” NIV). We’ve all been disappointed by Christians who promised things and didn’t come through or said one thing and did another. We have high expectations of our brethren in Christ, and rightfully so. We expect them to be different from the “world” and so does God. Think of what you’ve said to your fellow Believers and make sure that you’ve followed through. It’s a great way to keep friends and a certain way to keep God’s favor.