This is an important chapter as it talks about smokescreens. What are smokescreens?
Well, Lee Stroebel gives us a couple of examples from his own experience in sharing the faith. He speaks of one instance where he was talking with a Indian man about faith and he seemed genuinely intrigued. He asked questions comparing Hinduism and Christianity and was excited about grace, and then all of a sudden Stroebel could see a difference in the questions and the man’s demeanor. The objections to Christianity became almost ridiculous and Stroebel finally asked him what was going on. The man admitted that he knew he’d have to give up cockfighting if he became a Christian. In another experience, Stroebel spoke with an atheist and dealt with many of his intellectual objections, but when asked about his interest in faith, the man finally admitted that the real reason he didn’t want to become a Christian was because he didn’t want to give up “an active sex life”.
This chapter helps us in a couple of ways. First, it helps us raise our awareness. When we talk with people about faith or when we meet people who aren’t Christians, we need to ask ourselves, “Why don’t they believe?” They may say one thing, but frequently it’s really a smokescreen for something else. It may be something straightforward like a “favorite sin” or it may be some pain in the past that they can’t let go.
Second, we need to be ready to deal with these problems. Many people have this idea of God as some kind of mean judge up in the sky bent on oppressing people into a boring life. We need to live and speak to a different experience. When God says not to do something, it’s because he actually wants us to enjoy something even better. He doesn’t say no sex- he says he wants sex to be enjoyed within the covenant of marriage between a man and a woman. That’s good stuff! He doesn’t say no money- he says accept it as a gift from God and be willing to give it back to God and others. You can go down the line. God has a greater design for our lives, one which has the ultimate trump card. It’s a life lived in forgiveness, grace, and the promise of heaven. No matter what joy they get out of a sin they hold onto, that can’t be even close to eqaul to the joy of grace.
Tags: Sharing Faith, smokescreens