Marlboro Ultra Lights and salvation

I have a very temporary job right now working as a manager at a truck stop. It is diametrically opposed to my hearts cry, but it is money and...well that's it really; it's money. One of my tasks is to sell cancer sticks to the overweight, caffeine injected truckers. We sell a myriad of different brands and varieties of cigarettes. One man asked yesterday for 3 packs of Marlboro Ultra Lights. Upon taking them down I noticed for the first time there is a ribbon at the top of the pack that declares "Light does not mean they will help you quit. Light does not mean safer." This proclamation is easy to read for anyone that has 20/20 vision and is looking for it on the pack. I touch about 200 packs a day and just noticed it yesterday.

It got me to think, "What is light about it then?" I am guessing this is another diet Coke idea. You know the one. You eat the double bacon cheeseburger and wash it down with the diet Coke. It makes it more healthy. Now sure, there are some who like the flavor of diet Coke. I am a Coke Zero man myself, but the idea is the same. If you are changing your life by .5% you shouldn't be hoping for a huge turn around. Is it possible that there is someone out there that likes Marlboro Ultra Lights for their airy, smooth taste; maybe. But I am guessing that the majority are buying these because they believe that they are sparing themselves from lung cancer or addiction. Whether you are inhaling less nicotine, tar or carbon monoxide seems irrelevant. The addiction is going to grab you and a lifetime of smoking will still have a harmful effect. I am sure you will do better than the guy smoking camel filterless, but your path is the same.

What about our spiritual life, do you do this? "I go to church every week, so I am doing better than someone who doesn't go." "I don't let the people I hate know that they bother me, I am still nice to them." If we examine ourselves by a movable standard we will always look great. I am wrestling with the idea of faith and works right now. I believe that submission to Christ is all that is required for salvation, but what shall we do with the call to action? The book of James was almost omitted from the protestant Bible because Luther was wrestling with the very same issue. I believe it comes down to this. My soul, until restored in glory is bent toward sin. Totally depraved and unable, on my own, to choose holiness. By His will I am given the grace to acknowledge and respond to Him. In response to Him I will invariably respond to mankind and fulfill the will of God. Chuck Swindoll once said "If I didn't do anything to earn my salvation, what can I do to unearn it?" Nothing, it is a gift of God that comes freely, but it isn't appropriate to relax in faith and be content with a stagnant salvation. Now that I can respond, I must. Ultra Light sin will also lead you away from the will of God. If you believe that God wants more for you than a life of pain and strife, you must follow after Him.

By no means am I saying that I have this idea completely worked out. I have been taught and raised in a denomination that teaches the exact opposite of this theology and have only ever been given straw man arguments against it, but as I read scripture it is this that matches up more clearly than any other idea. I welcome comments and your ideas, but be prepared to defend your position. And as always, let the peace of Christ exude in your speech.