I agree that cheating is worse, but itsn’t smoking also a sin because of the harm that it does to your body which is supposed to be a temple of the Holy Spirit?
There is no such thing as killing yourself and others in moderation. Smoking in moderation is a myth. Very, very few people are able to be social smokers or weekend smokers. Addiction takes hold and then all of a sudden you aren’t able to only have one or two a week. I was a social smoker for a few years and I thought I could have one once in a while because I don’t have an addictive personality, but I found out the hard way that cigarettes are more addictive than heroin, (as a doctor once told me), and it became a killer (literally) habit after a couple of years. Then I had to do the hard, almost impossible work of quitting. But, if I can quit, anyone can. So you see my friend, it is a terrible idea to even have one cigarette. In my opinion there is no such thing as smoking in moderation. Almost 100% of the people will eventually become addicted. As I said earlier, RJ Reynolds and Phillip Morris are laughing all the way to the bank, and thinking you smokers are idiots. They are laughing at you–thinking how dumb you are to be killing yourself, spending your hard earned money, and stinking to high heaven while you are lining their pocketbooks. Do you think they would let their children smoke? Hell no, let someone else’s children die, not theirs.
ok well eating McDonalds, not getting enough excercise, not taking your vitamins, these are all sins then? Being unhealthy is not a sin, and ‘killing yourself’ is a bit of an extreme way to put it, it takes many years. There is no intoxication with tobacco, like there is with other drugs, so I can’t see the sin.
Cigarettes vs. cheating on an exam.
Keep an open mind. Maybe you too will have this problem one day (I don’t have kids either, but I know Mom would kill me worse for cheating rather than smoking)
…i would think both equally lessen the value you place in yourself…
if you smoke today, you are aware of the alledged ramifications to your health… if you cheat on a simple test (assuming test at school) your character suffers as well… so i give it a draw… both venial, both reducing yourself to something less than you were designed to be…
i suggest you love yourself a little more… you will thank yourself one day, not to mention the life you save from smoking may be your childs… 
For the most part, I agree. Both are undesirable, but that makes it the basis for discussion. If the question was “Would you be more upset with your teenager if you caught them cheating, or if you caught them eating all their vegetables and exercising” it wouldn’t be much of an issue.…i would think both equally lessen the value you place in yourself…
…should you sell your weakness as no big deal to someone else and that causes them temptation to mirror your behavior???
…could wind up being mortal…
IMHO:thumbsup:
Get real!!! You have got to be kidding!!! You do not see how anybody equates smoking with killing yourself! Read a paper, go to a hospital, call the American Cancer Society, ask a doctor, talk to a smoker, open your eyes and ears, listen to the horror stories, go to the American Cancer Walk for Life, contact the American Heart Association. The list is endless if you want to educate yourself how to equate smoking with killling yourself. I challenge you to call the American Cancer Society at 1-800-227-2345 and post what they said about smoking.
I’m sorry…I didn’t realize that lighting up was the exact same as putting a gun to your head and pulling the trigger. Not that I would know or anything, as I know smokers, and I know somebody who killed himself.
Smoking is no doubt bad, even deadly if done in excess. However, I don’t believe that unhealthy is as bad as dishonest. My point is not to trivialize unhealthy habits, but to emphasize that good character is more important.
It is not saying smoking only is a way of killing oneself, they are jsut trying to point out that it is a means of shortening lifetimes and also harming the body that God gave to you so that you could give greater glory to Him. He just doesnt’ want you to misuse it. I know that smoking is not the same as killing yourself like Lewis, but it is also very harmful to yourself and to others and is a main cause for cancer. I argree that cheating is worse, but smoking can also be very detrimental.
Agreed.
Shooting yourself in the head is immediate. Death by smoking may take longer. Does that make you less dead?
No it doesn’t, but smoking also holds the advantage of being able to quit and go through recovery to try to rid the body of some carcinogenic matter, increasing lifespan. It is more forgiving, than just the immediate shooting in the head. Consequences, in the long term, are the same and both do show an acute disrespect for the body. I don’t know…