Lessons from Cigars

Can anything good come from smoking a cigar? I would have to say yes to that question.

What exactly? Very well…the following are some thoughts I had today as I enjoyed an afternoon cigar…

You have to take the time to enjoy a cigar. You can’t enjoy a cigar on the run. It is not a five minute thing. To enjoy a cigar you have to have the time and the place where you can enjoy it. Similarly, if you want to get to know Christ and enjoy Him, it is going to take time. You cannot have a strong relationship with God that is only sustained by quick 30 second devotional readings and mealtime prayers. To enjoy God the way He wants us to enjoy Him requires that we make the time and place for Him every day. We go deeper, hear His voice clearer, understand His will better, and experience His love and grace for us more when we take the time to sit with Him and enjoy Him, be it in prayer, reading His Word, a good book, or enjoying His creation.

Enjoying a cigar is a social thing. You can of course, enjoy a cigar alone. That can be very good sometimes. But cigar smoking is often more enjoyable when you are with friends. Likewise, while it is good to have time alone with God, it is also good to enjoy Him with others who enjoy Him as well. I enjoy studying the Bible or reading Edwards, Spurgeon, or Fenelon by myself. But I have to admit, I think I have grown the most when I have been in conversation with others. God has often spoken to me or convicted me or enlightened me through the words and actions of others I have been in fellowship with. The Christian is no Lone Ranger….and now that I think about it, even the Lone Ranger had Tonto!

A cigar is meant to be enjoyed. That is its purpose. There are two ways to take this. First, God is meant to be enjoyed. That, in essence, is what worship is—it is the enjoyment of what you Worship. The first question of the Westminster Shorter Catechism is “What is the chief end of man?” Its answer is “Man’s chief end is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever.” You glorify God, you show His worth and beauty by enjoying Him. God wants us to enjoy Him.

The second way to take this is that God created us for His enjoyment. That’s why we were made. That is our purpose; to be spent for Him and His glory.

A cigar only lasts so long. A cigar once it is lit has only a certain amount of time before it is gone. It reminds me that life is fleeting. I will not be here forever, so how I live my life now is very important. Just as I can’t un-smoke a cigar, I can’t get the time I have spent back. All I have is what is left.

When a cigar is lit, there is smoke constantly rising from it. Revelation 8:4 (NIV) says, The smoke of the incense, together with the prayers of God’s people, went up before God from the angel’s hand. As I see the smoke rising up constantly from my cigar, I am reminded that I should always be praying.

The scent and taste of a cigar lingers after it is gone. It is not hard for a person to guess when I have enjoyed a cigar. They have a certain scent about them (admittedly better or worse depending on the quality of the cigar). In the same way being with God should have after effects that make it obvious to others that we have been in His presence. After Moses spent time with God on the mountain his face reflected God’s glory, so much so that the people had him cover his face with a veil. 2 Corinthians 3:18 (NIV) says, And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit. Does the way we think, talk, work, and love have that scent of God’s glory about it? Is it obvious? It should be as recognizable as a person who has smoked a cigar.

Last, some like it, some do not. Most men seem to enjoy the smell of a good cigar, while many women do not. When women ask me what is the attraction of cigars, I tell them it is “guy potpourri.” Some people get all excited when they smell a cigar, others want to gag. It reminds me of 2 Corinthians 2:14-16 (NIV),

But thanks be to God, who always leads us as captives in Christ’s triumphal procession and uses us to spread the aroma of the knowledge of him everywhere. For we are to God the pleasing aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing. To the one we are an aroma that brings death; to the other, an aroma that brings life.

The reality is that when you are plainly living for God through Christ, it is going to be attractive to some and repellant to others. Living for God is going to attract some people and it is going to repel others. Christ to some is nothing more than a stumbling block and foolishness (1 Corinthians 1:23). We need to be ready for that. We need to accept that.

Such are the thoughts I had today as I sat reclining on my porch enjoying a cigar…. Puff, puff. :-)=~