SMOOKING IN THE CHURCH

I once heard a pastor share a powerful incident from his church that deeply opened my understanding of how God's love truly works.

He explained that one Sunday morning, he preached a message on the love and grace of God. He spoke about how deeply God loves us, how He understands our weaknesses, and how He is not angry with us when we fall into sin.

Surprisingly, the following Sunday, some of the church leaders seated in the front row showed up with cigars and pipes, openly smoking in front of the church. The pastor didn’t confront them or say anything during the service.

After the meeting, some concerned members approached him and said, “Can you now see the danger of preaching such a message on grace? It’s caused some of your leaders to start smoking!”

The pastor calmly responded, “Go and ask them if they started smoking after the message I preached.”

What happened here? Many Christians act holy in church but live differently in private. This is often the result of how preachers have misrepresented the character of a loving God. We’ve made God seem more interested in punishment than in healing.

Now that these leaders have chosen to be honest and transparent—even if it meant smoking publicly—they have opened the door for the power of Christ to truly begin working for them. That’s how transformation happens. The power of God doesn't meet us in our pretense; it meets us in our honesty.

Hebrews 4:15 says, “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin.”

Don’t hide from God. He sees you, knows you, and loves you—even in your weakest moments. He is not angry when you fall. Instead, He invites you to open yourself up to His healing power. One way to do that is through honest confession to a trusted believer, leader or Pastor. 

God loves you—deeply, unconditionally, and without end