Pipe Smoking 10: The Theological Part Concluded

“I believe that many who find that ‘nothing happens’ when they sit down, or kneel down, to a book of devotion, would find that the heart sings unbidden while they are working their way through a tough bit of theology with a pipe in their teeth and a pencil in their hand.” — C.S. Lewis

I started this series because I wanted to bring together pipe smoking and theology. In the first posts, I focused on the pipe portion while the last couple of posts have been about the theology. In this post, I’ll conclude the theological part. So let’s turn our attention to another passage that speaks to the art and science of pipe smoking.

Well…

Not really…

But it does play into the view that pipe smoking is not a sin, much to the chagrin of some of my friends.

In Matthew 15, Jesus is recorded as saying, “It’s not what people put into their mouths that makes them unclean. It’s what comes out of their mouths that makes them unclean.” (v. 11; adapted).1 He goes on to explain—

“Surely you know that all the food that enters the mouth goes into the stomach and then goes out of the body. 18But what people say with their mouths comes from the way they think, from the heart; these are the things that make people unclean. 19Out of the mind come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual sins, stealing, lying, and speaking evil of others. 20These things make people unclean; eating with unwashed hands doesn’t make them unclean” (vv. 17-20; adapted).

That’s an important admission. And while the immediate context is about washing one’s hands, the overall context is about what makes one unclean before God (verse 20). Couple this with what Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 6 and one could make the case that smoking a pipe doesn’t make one unclean before God. I’m not saying one should build a case on these passages, but one could.

Notice again what Jesus said here. It’s the intentions of the heart which leads to sinful actions that makes one unclean before God. Now, if one is stealing or killing another person to gain more pipes or tobacco, well, then, of course, that would be sin. But enjoying the ritual of loading your pipe with a nice tobacco, lighting it, and sipping on it for half an hour or more while you contemplate the deep things of life, well...that’s hardly sinful. To misquote Jesus, “Out of the mind come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual sins, stealing, lying, and speaking evil of others. These things make people unclean; smoking a pipe doesn’t make them unclean.”

“But...but what if you cause someone else to sin,” I can hear someone ask. This exception is loosely based on Paul’s admonition in Romans 14. Let’s take a quick look at that passage.

Right off the bat, Paul tells the followers of Jesus in Rome to “Accept into your group someone who’s weak in faith, and don’t argue about opinions.” (verse 1; adapted). He then explains what this means in the context of the Roman followers. He says that some people’s faith allows them to eat anything while those who are “weak” are vegetarians (vv. 2-3). Some people think that only certain days are sacred while others think all days are the same. “Let all be sure in their own mind,” he says in verse 5. Paul states that whatever our opinion might be on these issues, we do them “for the Lord” and “give thanks to God” (v. 6). So, if both groups—the supposed “mature” and the supposed “weak”—honor God with their convictions, who are they to judge others because of their differences of opinion (vv. 4, 10)? “Each one of us,” Paul says, “will have to answer to God. For that reason we should stop judging each other” (vv. 12-13a).

Paul now turns to the verse that’s the basis for the objection above. In verse 13, Paul states the followers of Jesus at Rome should “not do anything that will make another Christian sin.” And, sure, by itself, that verse appears to support the objection. But what about the context? Paul’s context is about community (see verse 1 again). He’s not talking about what one does in her own home or on her own porch; he’s talking about what people do together in a communal environment. It’s there, Paul stresses, that one has to take into account the convictions of others.

But this brings us to a point that most people don’t (or won’t) address and that’s transparency.  To carry out what Paul’s really getting to in this passage, all of us has to do the hard work of being open and honest with each other about our lives. That means being vulnerable with each other. Think about it. How did Paul know to address this issue about some followers of Jesus being offended about what others ate if they weren’t being honest with each other? Too often we continue to be offended by the actions (or non-actions) of others in a faith community until we start to resent them or can’t even stand the sight of them. That’s sinful, dear reader. One way to avoid that is to be honest with people about our walks and our convictions.

I’m one that Paul would call “weak” in this context because I don’t eat meat. But how can I be upset with someone if, when arriving at their home for dinner one evening, they serve rack of lamb, and they had no idea that I was a vegetarian? I really can’t. However, if that person knew I was a vegetarian but fixed meat anyway, well, that could be hurtful to my faith and isn’t really “following the way of love” (v. 15). In other words, the supposed “mature” person is exercising their conscience at the detriment of the supposed “weaker” person. And, to me, that makes the supposed “mature” person the truly weak one.

Paul finishes off this section of his letter with something I think all of us should strive to live by. He says:

Your beliefs about these things (what to eat, what to drink, which days are holy, etc.) should be kept secret between you and God. People are happy if they can do what they think is right without feeling guilty. 23But those who eat something without being sure it’s right are wrong because they didn’t believe it was right. Anything that’s done without believing it’s right is a sin (vv. 22-23; adapted).

The Message2 puts it this way:

Cultivate your own relationship with God, but don’t impose it on others. You’re fortunate if your behavior and your belief are coherent. But if you’re not sure, if you notice that you’re acting in ways inconsistent with what you believe—some days trying to impose your opinions on others, other days just trying to please them—then you know that you’re out of line. If the way you live isn’t consistent with what you believe, then it’s wrong.

I don’t think Paul is advocating deceitfulness here. I think it’s more about personal conviction or “cultivating one’s own relationship with God.” Again, the context is about what’s being done in a faith community. Paul’s “giving permission,” if you will, to let people follow their convictions in private without upsetting others in public.

So, my dear friends, if you’re able to smoke your pipe without believing it’s wrong, puff away! Follow the conviction of your heart, being led by the Spirit of God, and have a relaxing smoke.

In the final post of this series, we’ll look at some pipe smoking quotes and poems from fellow followers of Christ.

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In the Love of the Three in One,

Br. Jack+, LC

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1. Unless otherwise stated, scripture quotations are taken from the New Century Version®, copyright © 2005 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

2. The Message, copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene H. Peterson.