Message summary: God "richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment". I can enjoy the beauty of a tobacco field but that doesn't mean I should smoke it. I can enjoy the beauty of a rose but that doesn't mean I should eat it! We need to consider the purpose in God's creation. The lily of the valley is a beautiful flower but it is a highly toxic plant that contains cardiac glycosides which can be dangerous if ingested but can be effective as a heart medication in the right controlled dose.

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"Then God said, 'Let the land produce vegetation: seed-bearing plants and trees on the land that bear fruit with seed in it, according to their various kinds'. And it was so. The land produced vegetation: plants bearing seed according to their kinds and trees bearing fruit with seed in it according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good. And there was evening, and there was morning—the third day" (Genesis 1:11-13). "Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment" (1 Timothy 6:17).

As most readers know we live out in the country surrounded by farms in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. Lancaster County is rapidly growing in population but remains the state’s largest agricultural producer. Its $1.5 billion in agriculture sales account for 19% of the state’s total. Lancaster leads the state in sales of grain, tobacco, vegetables, and nearly every animal AG category (from the Lancaster Farming newspaper).

Most of the crops we see grown in the fields are corn and soybean, also cover crops such as rye and wheat. On smaller plots of land we see vegetables and numerous orchards. We even have a commercial flower farm on our road.

But one crop that really stands out when passing a field is tobacco. It is very interesting to observe as it grows (such as in our lead photo). Years ago I took a photo of a plain farmer planting tobacco in eastern Lancaster County and showed it to Jesse Dourte, an older minister friend now with the Lord. He mildly rebuked me for taking the photo due to his convictions against tobacco use (which I share).

Our neighbor Aaron grows tobacco and to be clear I am not advocating for the way it is usually used (smoking or chewing). The extent of my smoking experience was junior high curiosity when I tried out one cigarette. I started coughing and it brought no pleasure at all so I never chose to develop a taste for it. I never even tried the chewing as that just seems gross to me. When I was young my dad smoked, cigarettes at first and then for a short time a pipe. But for most of my childhood and onward he stopped smoking, I assume due to the growing awareness of detrimental health impact and probably my Mom's getting after him!

The Bible doesn't specifically mention tobacco but after creating vegetation on the third day God saw that it was good (the vegetation He had created). Well, tobacco would have been among the vegetation that was good.

Enjoying the beauty of tobacco being grown and even the harvesting process but not how it is used prompts a musing today that can apply to many things in the created order. Why did God create tobacco? Or the mosquito or the house fly? Why did He make poison ivy?

Some thoughts:

Indeed tobacco as created by God is good but man has developed ways to misuse it that are harmful. That's true with a lot of things that can be good for one reason but can become bad for another.

Our second text states that God "richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment". I can enjoy the beauty of a tobacco field but that doesn't mean I should smoke it. I can enjoy the beauty of a rose but that doesn't mean I should eat it! We need to consider the purpose. But the good can become bad if used the wrong way. The lily of the valley is a beautiful flower but it is a highly toxic plant that contains cardiac glycosides which can be dangerous if ingested but can be effective as a heart medication in the right controlled dose.*

As far as nuisance insects like the house fly and maggot they have a vital role in decomposition, so ultimately they contribute to our enjoyment in life, even if a buzzing fly can pester us to no end. We would be in a real mess if nothing decomposed.

But as far as why God created the mosquito*² and poison ivy we'll just have wait till heaven to get that answer!

Be encouraged today!  Hebrews 3:13

Stephen & Brooksyne Weber