MY EXPERIENCE ON TOBACCO.
By Wm. McKearnin
WHEN I was nine years old I was recommended to smoke for the good of my stomach, to which remedy I resorted, but never received any benefit from the use of the foul weed, though I used it from that time until I was twenty-one. At this time I experienced the blessing of a Saviour. It has always been a query to me why I was not convicted on this point, but I still continued to use it for the space of two weeks, when one day I went into the tobacco factory of a neighbor. He made me a present of half a dozen first class cigars. I smoked one of them and started for home. While on my way home, I became convicted by the Spirit of God bringing this passage of Scripture to my mind: “Cleanse yourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.” Said I, this is a filthiness of the flesh, and the word says, “from all,” but I will not throw away my cigar. Again this passage of Scripture came to my mind, “Know ye not that your body is a temple of the Holy Ghost, and if any man defile this temple, him will God destroy.” Thought I, this means me. This is enough. Good bye tobacco, forever! So I threw the cigar out of my mouth, the other five out of my pocket, and glory be to God! from then till now, I have had no desire to smoke. After this the greatest test came. I had at the same time between two and three hundred dollars worth of tobacco on hand, part of it stripped, and part of it not stripped. Then the question was, what must I do with the stuff? This was a struggle. I shall never forget the time. I felt that if it was wrong to use it myself, it was wrong to manufacture it for others, yet it seemed as if it was too bad to throw away so much money’s worth of tobacco. If I did not use it myself I might appropriate the money for some good purpose. But this seemed like taking Baal’s wood to burn the Lord’s sacrifice. In the midst of this conflict, the blessed word came to my relief in 1st Timothy. “Neither be partakers of other men’s sins. Keep thyself pure.” This, like the other two, were the turning points with me, and forever settled this question with me. So I went home, took the fork and pitched the tobacco into the barnyard. The result was, the Lord blessed me wonderfully. Glory to his name. When I experienced the blessing of holiness it took all the compromise out of me, and I had rather go to the poorhouse and not have a friend than to disobey God if I knew it. This is my motto in all things. No compromise with sin of any species. Jesus approves of this way, and keeps me by the moment. Glory to Jesus.—Wm. McKearnin in Earnest Christian.