You may wonder, though, to what extent a person’s living in harmony with the Bible in these respects would help him to put bread on his table. Take, for instance, the smoking habit. In Sweden, a man who smokes from 20 to 25 cigarettes a day must spend about $600 (U.S.) annually. As about 50 percent of his income goes for taxes, this means that he must earn about $1,200 (U.S.) just to support his tobacco habit. This is more money than the monthly wages for the average worker. When the wife and teen-age children also smoke, more than 20 percent of the breadwinner’s income may be spent on tobacco. Often this means that the family cut down on the nourishing quality of their food in order for them to be able to continue smoking.

It is especially pathetic when a man spends most of his earnings on drink while the family suffers want. After receiving their wages, millions throughout the earth head for a bar. On leaving, they may be completely drunk and penniless. The wife may then be forced to borrow some money in order to pay bills and to get the family something to eat. In lands where such heavy drinking is customary, great poverty exists among persons with low incomes.

This was the situation with a family in Mexico. They were extremely poor and lived in squalor and filth. The family did not even own a table on which to eat. However, when they began to learn the principles of the Bible, things began to change. Because the husband stopped drinking, they were able to obtain a table and some chairs. Later, they bought a gas stove to replace their little kerosine stove. The whole appearance of the house improved, as better efforts were put forth to keep it clean.

When excessive drinking is combined with heavy smoking, the financial problems are compounded. “In fact,” as Jim, a dark-haired young man living in Canada, explains, “easily a quarter to one third of my wages was consumed to keep us on alcohol and tobacco. Why, we could have eaten better and dressed quite well if we had just saved that wasted money!” His wife, Carol, interrupts, saying: “Sometimes we would be relaxing at the end of the day, and I would suddenly discover, with annoyance, that our cigarettes were finished. Then I would start to pressure Jim to go out to buy more. He’d complain that he had no money. ‘Probably spent it on beer!’ I would think. Anyway, I’d get more upset until I would persuade him to collect all the milk bottles around the house to take to the store and trade them for some cigarettes. This was always embarrassing for Jim. But, more than that, it often meant our young ones would have to do without much-needed milk until we could get more money.”