My Dad used to smoke… a lot. Growing up I remember Dad
always having a cigarette, pipe, or cigar in his hand. Back then it was not known how bad smoking was for your health, it was just cool …and addicting. Dad
tried a few times to quit, and when I was in high school he finally quite …completely.
When I was out of school for the summer or a holiday I would sometimes travel with Dad while he worked. I remember one time in particular traveling with him.
As we drove along we past under a bridge, and Dad said “That’s where I threw
out my last cigarette.” Several months earlier, that was the point where he
finally decided to quit smoking. It was a big, memorable moment to him. That bridge became a landmark for him representing when he “turned his life
around.” I have the same landmark representing a big, memorable moment. It was
when I decided to turn my life around and accept Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior.
Yeah, kind of a big deal.J
But I remember Dad did not completely quit smoking right
away. Every now and then he would smoke. Usually it was a cigar which was not supposed to be as bad for you. He would do it outside. He was not trying to hide
it because Mom knew and I knew too. He was doing it so we would not have to
smell it. I remember one time walking out the garage to the driveway and finding him
smoking a cigar, and I joked with him saying, “I thought you had quit?” He
said he had quit the BAD cigarettes butt the cigar was not as bad for him, and
it was helping him build up strength to completely quit (Isaiah 40:30, “Even
youths get tired and weary; even strong young men clumsily stumble.”). It did not take too long before Dad did quit completely, including cigars. It was not easy
for him to quit the addiction, but he did.
We’re all born sinners (Psalm 51:5, “Look, I was guilty of
sin from birth, a sinner the moment my mother conceived me.”) and have an
addictive life before we accept Jesus Christ as our Savior (Rom. 3:23, “for all
have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”). I was in college when I
became a believer. It was in March of 1985, and I’ll never forget the moment. It
was not under a bridge, but on my bed in my dorm room. Before that moment I was
living with some bad habits, but those bad habits did not disappear when I
became a believer. It actually took some time before I was convicted enough and
strong enough to quit those habits.
We have to show some grace to believers who are still “addicted
to some bad habits.” It takes some believers longer to get strong enough to
break the addiction, and we can help them by loving, supporting, and
encouraging them even when they are still “smoking” (Job 4:4, “Your words have
supported those who stumbled, and you have strengthened the knees that gave
way.”).
Love
Ya,
Dad
