SMOKING AND GAMBLING??? SINFUL??

God created food, so it's not the food thats sinful, but the amount of food we eat. Greed of anykind is sin. Greed for food, money you don't have to work to earn(gambling). Yes, the body is the temple of God, and I believe anything that destroys (harms) it is sinful,eating too much foods, smoking, drugs.

 

So then can we assume that all people that are over weight are living a sinful life?

Paula

 

Another questin: Do you think that taking a chance with the blessing God gave you is NOT sinful? God promisses us that if we are faithful he will bless us moreover. I don't see the need to "take a chance" rather than wait on the Lord for his promise to come true.

Paula

 

Holly -
I have heard that the smoking issue is rooted in 1 Corinthians 6:19-20. The reference is to sexual immorality, but the intent of the verse seems clear.
Gambling is looked down upon because of the soldiers gambling at the foot of the cross (Matthew 27:35). Also, one cannot ignore that there are people who have a true addiction to gambling and it becomes there master. It disrupts families as much as alcoholism and that type of addiction is frowned upon secularly as well as spiritually.

May God bless you

- Clint

 

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by livin'intheword:
So then can we assume that all people that are over weight are living a sinful life?

Paula<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

If the objections to smoking are legitimate, then those same objections apply to overeating.

 

Aaron said :
<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR> If the objections to smoking are legitimate, then those same objections apply to overeating. <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Aaron, my point wasn't about overeating. I asked if we can assume that someone who is OVERWEIGHT is living a sinful life?

Paula

 

When I was wallowing around in the world I used to joke with the C-store folks. I would on saturdy buy $5 in lotto 1 case of beer and two or three packs of smokes. Usually three since I didn't want to get more the next day being all hung over and stuff. Any way the joke was as follows. clerk- you have a nice day. me- well I'm smoking, drinking and gambleing looks pretty good so far.
The point is that the world associates gambling and smoking and such as sinful.
And our obligation is to avoid even the appearnce of evil or sinfulness. Making a bet in itself probably not a sin. Being a stumbling block for some one who sees you do it that would be the sin. Hope I haven't confused anyone. This got pretty well beat to death on another thread recently.

 

One other thing I would like to share on this general topic. I felt for a long time that what others saw me do had very little effect on them and thier relationship with Christ. One day I had a conversation with a Deacon about such matters and he told me that the aprearnce of hypocracy kept him out of church for many years. He lived very near a chruch and would see who was there every Sunday looking all pious and such. And in his words "I saw who was first at church on Sunday and I know where their car was Satruday night. And you know that kept me out of church for years. Almost let it keep me from accepting Christ praise God I got over it but I wonder somtimes how many more would Christians there would be if those that were would act like it." Any way the short of it I before that I didn't really believe that others cared what I did. They shouldn't but the Devil will use any excuse in the unconverted's mind to keep them that way.

[ November 19, 2001: Message edited by: Brian ]

 

Is smoking and gambling sinful? In my opinion smoking is something that over a period of time destroys your body.I don't consider it a sin but a weakness of the flesh that can be overcome.When we become born again believers we have the power of Christ in us.If Jesus can overcome the power of death then he can help a person that smokes stop smoking if they are WILLING to stop.God gives us the choice to stop sinning or stop habits that are not a good lifestyle for a Christian.If we are willing to give up our sinful and lustful lifestyles Jesus stands ready to help us.All we have to do is ask.Remember the biggest two letter word in the Bible is "IF".God says if we do this then he will do that.Gambling may not be considered a sin in the Bible but Jesus did chase money changers and gamblers out of the temple.In my opinion gambling can lead to an addiction.Once it has become an addiction then it leads to sin in the way it destroys families and leads to breaking of the commandments to support it. I feel God gives us everything we have including money and he expects us to be good stewards of what he gives us.Thus spending it gambling would not be a good example of being a good steward.I know fellow christians that smoke and gamble and when they say they want to quit I tell them to seek out the Lord.No persons advise can equal the help they can get from Jesus.All we can do is support them and pray for them.

 

(sigh)

Only 3 questions you have to answer, and be personally convicted in your own mind:

1) Is it pleasing to God, or to yourself?

2) Is it harmful to yourself or others?

3) Is it causing someone to stumble?

Meat and drink are not of the kingdom of God; but if it's causing someone to stumble, or hurts yourself or someone else, then those should be indications that it's not pleasing to God.

 

Paula

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>So then can we assume that all people that are over weight are living a sinful life? <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>


No. Some people are over weight for other reasons, thyroid, some medications cause weight gain. Plus there is the fact that once a person straightens out there over eating, the weight doesn't just go away. It sticks around a while. So no, they aren't necessarily living a sinful life style. Their sin just happens to be one you can see, others are able to hide their sin, but it's still there whether or not we can see it.

 

Well 1 Cor. tells us that whatever we do to give glory to the Lord.

If we overindulge in food this is not giving honor and glory to the Lord.

But as far as gambling and smoking...Ephesians tells us not to give place to the devil and to abstain from every appearance of evil.

I know people who were a stumbling block in winning people to the Lord because they were smoking.

You may also notice that these are things that can and will become strongholds in our lives if we allow them to.

A stronghold is anything that has priority over the Lord in our lives and it can be anything. It can be our family or our jobs or it can be something like smoking or gambling or overeating or tv or the computer or our ministries in the church.

The Lord is to be the priority in our life and He is to have first place in our life over all other things.

I would also say no it does not specifically spell out for us that these things are wrong but anything that "could" and "will" control our lives we should stay away from. Also, I have no idea how you can give glory to the name of Jesus Christ by smoking or gambling or taking drugs. The eating issue that was brought up is a little bit more difficult...we all have to eat so how much we eat is to be an amount that would honor the Lord.

Just my thoughts.

Jane.

 

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by livin'intheword:
Aaron said :


Aaron, my point wasn't about overeating. I asked if we can assume that someone who is OVERWEIGHT is living a sinful life?

Paula<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Obesity is the result of one thing: overeating. It is impossible for one's body to generate a greater amount of mass than what was put into it. If one gains a pound, it is because he has eaten a pound of food more than he needs.

 

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR> quote:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Originally posted by Aaron:
Obesity is the result of one thing: overeating[...]If one gains a pound, it is because he has eaten a pound of food more than he needs.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I really become bothered by claims such as Aaron's above. What you are saying is true to a point, Aaron. Yet you are forgetting other factors in fat deposition, such as metabolic rate.

If I sat down and ate a box of cookies, and an obese person sat down and ate an identical box of cookies, the obese person would gain more mass than me. Why? Because I have a super-high metabolic rate (and thus I'm very skinny). Therefore, even though we both start out with the same amount of energy, more energy is converted to heat (a by-product of metabolism) when I eat the cookies, whereas more of the energy is conserved as fat for the obese person. There are other factors as well that determine how much food we retain as fat.

I just watched a show yesterday on the Discovery channel about obesity and genetics. There is a particular native american tribe which has an astonishingly high level of obesity, despite the fact that their diet and behavior parallels most Americans. This indicates that something other than food intake and behavior is going on to cause some forms of obesity.

Certainly food intake plays a role. No doubt our increase in obesity as a whole society is due to factors such as more fatty foods from McDonald's and less exercise. But we are naive to think that obesity is only due to behavior, when it is obvious in nearly all other diseases (cancer, alzheimers, etc), genetics does play a role.

Here's some info from the NIH. It talks about the link between obesity and several genes, including the human OB gene, adipose tissue cytokines, and glucocorticoid hormones. Here's another link for anyone interested from the National Heart, Lung and Blood institute that is really long: It's a PDF download.

Thanks for listening,
<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Amen!

[ November 20, 2001: Message edited by: Joey M ]

 

Froggy and Joey,

Yes, glands, genes and metabolism are the common excuses for obesity. The body is running on something, and it's not air. If the body is storing energy, then it is because more energy than what is needed has been taken in. It is that simple.

Yeah, some people have a faster metabolism. So? They get to eat more food.

Some people have a slower metabolism. So? They can eat less.

Again, it is impossible for one to gain weight if his caloric intake is less than or equal to the calories he burns. Overeating is simply eating more than you need. And that is a sin.

 

Re: smoking, I have a tract posted on my web site that answers many questions...
Smoking

 

Brian,

I read that link and I disagree.

If smoking diminishes your witness. (BTW, I'm against the idea of a having a "witness", in the first place.) If smoking kills your witness, then I've got to assume that you didn't have much of a witness to begin with.

 

I fail to see your point, Smoke Eater.

But would you be willing to substitute the word "testimony" for "witness"?? How can a man tell people about the power of God to break sinful habits in their lives when he's addicted to a drug himself? How credible is such a man?