Smokeless Faith

Being very involved in the youth department at my church this is a topic I have to bring up.. I started the occasional smoking at around 16, being in a small town you could always find the one store who didn't ID. By 18 I had a serious smoking habit, and at 21 I would smoke around a pack a day. When I moved back home from college I became active in our church band and very active in the youth program. It was the night of June 24th 2009 when I finally broke down. I was sitting outside my Mom and Dad's house on what I had designated my smoking bench having a smoke and playing my guitar. I can't remember the song I was playing, I just remember playing it over and over and all of a sudden I broke into tears and dropped the cigarette. I was an example to these teenagers and they looked up to me, what kind of example was I setting when I showed up reeking of smoke chewing a piece of mint gum to "disguise" it. My problem however comes with the different viewpoints in tobacco. Why is it that a 21 year old can understand that smoking is an obvious betrayal of true leadership and older men in the church with leadership positions view their chewing tobacco as no big deal? (Titus 2:6-8)

My biggest complaint is the double standard. If I was to take a pack of cigarettes to church and go around to the men who dip snuff after church and offer them all a cigarette I guarantee they would all look at me like I had 3 heads. Just because your tobacco can't make smoke rings doesn't mean it influences anyone any less. I challenge us all to take a look at our lives and see what kind of example we are being for the younger generations. Just because you drive a Ford pickup and wear Wranglers doesn't mean you have to have a "Skoal ring".