Communication
There is an uproar occuring in my town. Letters to the editor are pouring in to the newpaper on a daily basis; each side is busy presenting a different view of the issue at hand.
The issue is public smoking.
I find myself in a dilemma on this one, but I made my choice of sides long ago.
I smoke. But I try my best not to inflict it
on anyone else. To me, this is an easy decision.
Smoking was my choice(a bad one, I'll admit), but
smoking in public places, or around anyone who doesn't smoke has never been an issue. I just don't do it. I won't do it.
Jesus tells us to think more highly of others than ourselves. That's how I try to conduct my life.
Just because I chose to do a stupid thing doesn't mean I have the right to inflict it on anyone else.
It is a major health concern. My health is my
business. What I do around you that may damage your health is your business. In this case, I'm with the non-smokers. I plainly, flat out, do not have the right to invade your space with anything you don't want to be there.
Smoke tends to waft all around places. It doesn't know the boundaries.
I do. Therefore, in this case, the non-smokers win.
So, fellow smokers, if I have offended you, I am sorry. But you aren't going to win. Yes, you have rights too, but yours are no more important than the next guys. There are bigger issues involved here.Your bad habit has the potential to kill not only you, but all those around you!
And we, as smokers, do not have the right to play with someone else's very life! What we chose to inflict upon ourselves is our own business, but smoking doesn't just affect us.
Be respectful of those whose company you keep who don't smoke. If you just have to have that cigarette, or cigar, or pipe, and you can't
wait another minute, go outside, in private, and
have at it. Please stop just sitting there blowing smoke around. Consider the needs of those around you.
You chose to do it; they didn't.
In truth, I'm fairly sure that we should not be playing with our own lives this way. Our lives belong to God. Ultimately, I'm sure He does not
want us hurting ourselves in this manner, knowing where it is likely to lead us. He desires only good things for us, and let's face it:
Smoking just ain't a good thing!
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Elizabeth, the common courtesy part is needed. I used to smoke, and I wish I never had. Yet, I still sympathize with smokers. I respect them, and I really have to exercise much patience when they don't respect me in return. In the meantime, I pray they, like I, will be able to quit smoking for their own health. Thomas
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