Smokers and sinners
Posted by Word Alive International Outreach | | Posted on 11:05 AM
Smokers and sinners
by John Fischer
A smoker in a non-smoking environment is a little like a sinner in church.
Both smokers and sinners gravitate together. They hit it off immediately. They know the traits, and can spot another one of their kind without any trouble. They don't mind being outcasts as long as they can have some company.
Sometimes they have to sneak, like when smoking dads have to sneak out of the cabin on camping trips so they can grab a few quick puffs on the volleyball court. (Sinners always have to sneak around non-sinners.)
It almost seems that smokers and sinners have more fun. They accept each other at pretty much face value. There's little to prove. Both can be outspoken about their dependencies and pretty raw about the realities of life. When smoking used to be allowed in the back rows of an airplane, it was always a noisy, happy group back there. Made me feel a little envious.
Smokers and sinners also share a level of condemnation from an increasingly non-smoking (and in the case of the church -- non-sinning) culture.
What's alarming about this is how easily the comparisons can be made, and how much the church resembles a non-smoking public.
We need a smoker's church -- a place that welcomes sinners and makes them feel at home. In such an environment, no sneaking is necessary, and there is no condemnation, because we all know what we deserve.
I don't know about you but I want to be around the smokers. Non-sinners aren't going to be able to come along side and relate to anyone. Besides, is anybody really not sinning?
by John Fischer
A smoker in a non-smoking environment is a little like a sinner in church.
Both smokers and sinners gravitate together. They hit it off immediately. They know the traits, and can spot another one of their kind without any trouble. They don't mind being outcasts as long as they can have some company.
Sometimes they have to sneak, like when smoking dads have to sneak out of the cabin on camping trips so they can grab a few quick puffs on the volleyball court. (Sinners always have to sneak around non-sinners.)
It almost seems that smokers and sinners have more fun. They accept each other at pretty much face value. There's little to prove. Both can be outspoken about their dependencies and pretty raw about the realities of life. When smoking used to be allowed in the back rows of an airplane, it was always a noisy, happy group back there. Made me feel a little envious.
Smokers and sinners also share a level of condemnation from an increasingly non-smoking (and in the case of the church -- non-sinning) culture.
What's alarming about this is how easily the comparisons can be made, and how much the church resembles a non-smoking public.
We need a smoker's church -- a place that welcomes sinners and makes them feel at home. In such an environment, no sneaking is necessary, and there is no condemnation, because we all know what we deserve.
I don't know about you but I want to be around the smokers. Non-sinners aren't going to be able to come along side and relate to anyone. Besides, is anybody really not sinning?
