Pipe Smoking - a hobby or lifestyle?

I am a pipe smoker.  In a world where smoking is frowned upon, I am proud to say that I thoroughly enjoy the benefits of being a part of the pipecsmoking community.   More importantly,  I am a Christian.   I am proud to say that Jesus is my Savior and that I try to live my life the best that I can for Him.  The first question that people will ask,  is how I can be both?  They will say that smoking is harmful to my health and that since I am a child of God, and we are told to take care of our bodies, that this is in direct contradiction to the Bible.  If I was to take that argument at face value, I could not disagree.  However, I don't agree with this stance.  It is all in the determination of what pipesmoking really is.  Is it a hobby? Or is it a lifestyle?

Let me take you back in history 19 years ago when I first took up the pipe.  I was 18 at the time, and just starting out on my own.  Most of my friends were smoking cigarettes and the Black 'n Mild cigars.  I had started smoking the cigars and found out that they were terribly expensive on my minimum wage salary.  I love the smell of them, so to save money, and to look cool, I bought a pipe.  I smoked it for a few months and the switched to cigarettes.   I quit smoking the pipe, as I didn't understand what it was all about.  My attitude was one of instant gratification,  and not conducive to the pipe smoking lifestyle.  I eventually gave up cigarettes in 2005, after 10 yrs of smoking those nasty things.   For a short while, pipe smoking was a hobby that I never really got involved in.

Spring forward to the fall of 2013.  I suddenly had the desire to smoke a pipe again.  I researched this "hobby" inside and out.  I read reviews, watched youtube video "how to's", and read tobacco reviews.  I was intrigued by the idea of being a pipe smoker.  Well, after researching, I talked to my wife, and she agreed that I could try smoking a pipe for a while.  So, in January, 2014, I started on this amazing journey.  I ordered a churchwarden pipe and a sampler pack of aromatic tobaccos.  These are the blends we fondly remember our fathers, grandfathers, and uncles smoking when we were kids.    Besides just wanting to smoke a pipe, another reason, was to force myself to slow down in my rat race of a life.  I had realized that my stress levels were too high, and that I needed to find a way to force myself to take time to step away from it.  Thus started my journey from hobby to lifestyle.

As I got involved in the pipe smoking community, I started to realize that smoking a pipe is a purposeful activity.  I have to choose my tobacco, choose my pipe, prepare the tobacco, pack the pipe correctly, and then, I get to enjoy smoking it.  Even in smoking, I have to be mindful of the way I smoke, as too hot of a flame, or too quick of a draw can ruin the whole smoke.  As I worked to understand pipe smoking, I came to realize that it is a form of meditation, and yes, even prayer.  It is a mindful activity that lends itself to meditative and purposeful action.  Every step in preparation and smoking is done with the goal of achieving the "perfect smoke".  As time wore on, this attitude of mindfullness started to invade my every day life.  I would find myself slowing down to assess the results of my actions, or thinking about what I say before the words leave my mouth.  I found myself being more mindful of my relationship with God.  I found myself with time for meditation of the Scriptures, and for prayer.  Whereas, before, I was too busy to spend time with God, now I found myself with plenty of time for Him.  Pipe smoking has now become a beneficial lifestyle.

On the issue of health, this is the elephant in the room.  I cannot deny that smoking cigarettes is bad for you.  I agree whole-heartedly.  However, I cannot agree that smoking tobacco in a pipe is bad for you.  
1) Cigarettes raise your blood pressure, wheras pipes lower it.  I used to have really high blood pressure, but since smoking a pipe forces relaxation, my blood pressure has actually dropped with the reduction of stress in my life.
2) Cigarettes are inhaled. Pipe smoke, as a general rule, are not inhaled like a cigarette.   The smoke is drawn into the mouth, tasted and smelled, and the exhaled from the mouth, or through the nose (not the lungs). I still get some smoke in my lungs, but nothing compared to the smoke from a cigarette
3) Cigarettes have nasty additives that are not present in pipe tobacco.  The additives in cigarette tobacco are the carcinogens,  not the tobacco itself.

Based on these three points, I have found the risks (if there are any) to be extremely low.  I feel that (due to the reduction of stress) my health is much better since picking up the pipe.  I have actually lost almost 30 lbs since January as well due to the lack of stress.

Pipe smoking as a lifestyle has been extremely beneficial.   I believe that it is completely compatible with my Christian lifestyle.  On that note, if God ever asks me to give up the pipe, it would be necessary for me to do so.  However, I do not forsee that happening anytime soon.

So, is pipe smoking a hobby?  I say not.  I have embraced the lifestyle with great zeal, as it has chaned my life for the better all around.  I belive that those who know me would agree.