I'm no cigar snob. I have a torch lighter. But something about the zing of the Zippo just gets me. So it may be uncouth but its my preferred means of toasting the foot of a coffee colored stogie. And a sip of rye in a Glencairn glass from a local distillery completes the celebration.
And that is what those two things together constitute for me. A celebration. It could be as simple as the end of a long week at work and relaxing, finally. It could be the goodness of the fellowship of a friend from across town or one come visiting from across the globe. I often call it our time of "Solving the World's Problems", because frank and deep discussion always burn at the end of a robust Churchill stick.
From Bonhoeffer's cigarettes to Lewis' pipe the greats have often enjoyed burnt tobacco.
But in this modern age we Christians have decided that there are no fireplaces in the bodies temple. And definitely no whiskey to warm our celebration. What would Jesus do? What did He do? Well He would provide the finest of wines to celebrate wedded bliss AND to kick off the next three or so years of miracles.
Most Christians today wouldn't drink that wine.
I recall a friend of mine discussing (on Facebook) his quandary of smoking pipe or cigar. And there were all his good Christian friends commenting on caring for "his temple" and such. And I remember commenting (and not knowing any of the prior commentators) that many people will turn their nose up at the man smoking a cigar yet give no thought to their ritual at the tanning salon. And for what good but vanity is the faux rays of Solarium? Lo and behold one of the ladies confessed that was exactly where she was heading when she had warned him of the dangers of smoking.
How could I have known?
For what its worth I smoke cigars slightly more often than I eat a carcinogenic steak off the grill. And much less often than you eat a donut.
I like milk. There is a reason I say that in my little bio over there in the corner. Because I also like whiskey and bourbon. And I like them for the same reason. They taste really good! But if I walk out of the grocery store with two gallons of milk and run into a fellow Christian they usually won't give me the "dirty glutton" look. But "oh,the humanity. He's gonna get drunk" if I walk out of the local stop n rob with a six pack of barley juice.
I make no argument for there being any health benefit to smoking. But I put it in the same realm as skydiving, swimming in the deep end, and bungee jumping. And of course, tanning. Sometimes the things we do are risky but are socially acceptable. Sometimes they are not. My rule in whiskey and cigars is to make them expensive enough to prevent the formation of a bad habit and just inexpensive enough to be a responsible hobby. And to involve interested people in responsible, even God honoring drinking. A Christian who appreciates a fine beverage can set an example for both the knee-jerk teetotaler and the no limits drinker. Don't believe me ? Join me on the front porch some time.
