The Chapel - Rediscovering God Changes Everything.

Contrary to popular belief, the Bible has nothing to say about smoking — underage or otherwise. The verses found in 1 Corinthians 3:16-17 are usually thought to address the issue: “Don't you know that you yourselves are God's temple and that God's Spirit lives in you? If anyone destroys God's temple, God will destroy him; for God's temple is sacred, and you are that temple” (NIV). Since you are God's temple and smoking is bad for your body — so goes this interpretation — then God will punish you for messing up his temple. But this passage has nothing to say about individual health; nor is the focus on the individual being a temple. It is a warning to anyone who would destroy God's Church, all of the individuals together forming a temple. Chapters 1 through 4 of 1 Corinthians highlight the theme of unity and the threats to that unity. It’s as if Paul says to that Church: “All of you together form God's temple. If someone messes up God's temple, God will take care of that troublemaker in a most unsightly manner.”

That said, the Bible insists on our obeying the laws of the land. An underage person is simply breaking the law by using a substance deemed out of bounds until he or she is 18 (here in Illinois, at least).

The Bible also has a lot to say about being wise. Indulging in a habit that is documented to be a hazard to health at best, a premature death at worst, is simply not wise. It might be a good idea to ask yourself why you want to do this in the first place. You also might want to visit a cancer ward and ask some of the veterans of smoking how things have panned out for them.