The Bible helps us to have the correct view of the matter when it says: “Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one you obey?” (Romans 6:16) When an individual’s thinking and actions are dominated by a craving for tobacco, he soon becomes a slave to a degrading practice. However, God, whose name is Jehovah, wants us to be free, not only from practices that harm our body but also from those that corrupt our spirit, that is, our dominant mental inclination. (Psalm 83:18; 2 Corinthians 7:1) Thus, as a person grows in appreciation and respect for Jehovah, he recognizes that Jehovah deserves his best and that he cannot give God his best while remaining enslaved to a lethal habit. That realization helps to give a person the will to resist hurtful desires.

Through his Word, the Bible, Jehovah God teaches us to have a proper view of our life, our body, and our faculties. His Son, Jesus, pointed to this when he said: “You must love Jehovah your God with your whole heart and with your whole soul and with your whole mind.” (Matthew 22:37) Clearly, God wants us to make good use of our life and body and to treat them with respect. As we learn about Jehovah and his promises, we come to love and value all that he has done for us. This motivates us to keep free from anything that defiles our body.

According to Jesus, love of neighbor​—our family, friends, and others around us—​is second only to love of God. “You must love your neighbor as yourself,” he said. (Matthew 22:39) If we pursue a habit that hurts those close to us, we are not showing neighborly love. Genuine love moves us to follow the Bible’s admonition: “Let each one keep seeking, not his own advantage, but that of the other person.”​—1 Corinthians 10:24.