The prevalence of cigarette, alcohol, and drug problems in the American population as a whole is quite astounding. As Christians, we are not immune to these problems. Some Christians have jokingly said that coffee, chocolate, and colas (caffeine) are the Christians drug of choice. But alarmingly more and more Christians are turning to much more addictive substances. The nerve-soothing effect of cigarettes, alcohol, and drugs becomes a way of hiding from the emotional or physical distress for many people, including those in the Christian community.
Instead of seeking solace in the Word of God and from Christ, they often seek comfort futilely elsewhere. Addiction results from a prolonged use of and too much use of the substance of choice in an attempt to escape the underlying discomforts of life. Some of the effects of these addictions are depression, tolerance, withdrawal, sickness, overdosing, and sometimes even a life of crime to support the habit. When users constantly think about the substance, their frame of mind and actions in both family and occupational settings upsets their family life and their employee effectiveness. It also separates them from God because of their habitual lifestyle and unrepentant behavior choices. Addictions begin and end with a choice of behavior. Only when Christians and others connect their behavior choices with the consequences of those sinful behaviors, can they make the choice to end it. Overindulgence of any kind can become a sinful behavior when it becomes more important to us than doing what we know God wants us to do. Often Christians began their sinful behavior before they became Christians, and continue to struggle with their addictions afterwards. Becoming a Christian does not negate the desire for or the consequences of addictions, but does give us a spiritual outlet to help us deal with and become free of our addictions. The first step in overcoming addictions is to recognize that it is a problem both to themselves and others around them. In light of this, Christians especially need to be more aware of the consequences of addictions.
Addiction to nicotine from cigarette smoking and other forms of tobacco is one of the United States main public health concerns. Tobacco use continues to be the most common cause of avoidable disease and death here in the United States. As Christians, we believe our bodies are the place of worship of the Lord, and as such, we should take care of our bodies. We need to choose to avoid these health problems by not smoking. Most adult smokers started smoking before eighteen years of age. Over a third of these adults will die early of a smoking related disease. Smoking is highly associated with cancer and is the main cause of lung and heart diseases. Smoking makes existing medical problems even worse. The younger people are when they begin smoking, the worse it is on their health and the harder it is to quit. Tobacco is often the first step for many people, which often leads down the path of alcohol and/or drug abuse. Teens who smoke are more likely to make other dangerous decisions such as not using seat belts, getting into fist fights, carrying weapons, and having unsafe sex at an earlier age. Teenagers most at risk for tobacco use have family or friends who smoke, downplay its harmful effects, have fewer coping skills, use smoking to ease stress, have self esteem issues and frequent depression problems, drop in academic accomplishment (especially girls), and/or suffer from eating disorders. Girls are especially influenced by cigarette advertisements that relate smoking to being thin. As Christians, we need to defeat this false representation and teach girls that they are beautiful just like they are, thin or otherwise. As Christians, we also believe that our children are the heritage of the Lord, and should treat them as such, avoiding personal behaviors that would either set a bad example for them or endanger them. Women who smoke during pregnancy often have babies with lower birth weight and their infants may fail to thrive. Smoking also causes repeated and severe ear infections in young children who are often around secondhand smoke.
Christians also sometimes have trouble with the overindulgence of alcohol. Drinking alcohol is not sinful in and of itself, but the overindulgence of it is sinful. The Proverbs plainly tell us that strong drink is a trap and that overindulge in it is not for God’s people. There are three types of drinking behavior that are associated with social problems: intoxication, regular heavy consumption, and alcohol dependence. Intoxication problems are drunk driving, personal accidents, alcohol poisoning, and interpersonal violence. Some regular heavy consumption problems are health problems, family problems, absenteeism from work, and financial problems. Alcohol Dependence problems include psychological problems and withdrawal problems. Some people may not believe these alcohol-related problems happen within the Christian community, but there are certainly alcoholics and other heavy drinkers in our church roles. Though these kinds of drinkers tend to have many, often severe, problems, the total impact on society as a whole is the toll on regular, heavy drinkers, added to the results of their intoxication. There are so many heavy drinkers in the U.S. that together, they cause most of the harm done in our society, not to mention in our church families.
