It did not begin with World War I, but that is when it got a name.  The term “smokescreen” was first used in 1915.  It referred to the intentional production of large volumes of smoke to screen the movement of troops, artillery, aircraft and even ships.  Smoke screens have been commonly created by small weapons such as a grenade or generated on a larger scale by tanks or warships.

Smokescreens were originally intended to hide tactical movement from an enemies’ line of sight, but in modern warfare the enemies’ line of sight extends to satellite, radar, and high-altitude surveillance.  As time and technology advanced the art of war, the meaning of the expression expanded, but the anachronistic word endured. 

These days, ‘smokescreen’ is used more in conversations than military contexts.  The dictionary defines it as “something designed to obscure, confuse, or mislead.”  When someone wants to direct attention away from their actions, words, or intentions, they act, speak, or express an intention that distracts from what they don’t want noticed.

Salesmen point us to their product’s amazing new features to keep us from asking hard questions about reliability and service.   Politicians trumpet popular mantras and vilify opponents’ dismal records or public failures to direct our gaze away from their own (in)abilities, record and positions.  And children deflect attention from the secretly eaten cookie or the broken vase by sudden, effusive recitations on the transgressions of a sibling.  Or a relentless battery of urgent, curious questions about how the world works.

We all do it. Throw up smokescreens to obscure, confuse, or mislead regarding our thoughts, words, and actions.  And while this may appear effective the reality is that voters, consumers, and parents see through the smoke.  Yet we persist in thinking through our clever artifice we can escape moral accountability to both men and God. 

Even the Bible is filled with attempts to shelter from God’s authority through smokescreens of shifted blame, accusations of God’s unfairness, fastidious but faithless worship, and pretentious theological inquiry.  When Jesus’ discussion with the woman at the well took a decidedly personal turn, she unleased a memorable smokescreen.

Jesus said to her, “Go, call your husband, and come here.” The woman answered him, “I have no husband.” Jesus said to her, “You are right in saying, ‘I have no husband’; for you have had five husbands, and the one you now have is not your husband. What you have said is true.” The woman said to him, “Sir, I perceive that you are a prophet. Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, but you say that in Jerusalem is the place where people ought to worship.”  John 4:16-20

And in Mark 12:13-17, one of Jesus’ most memorable sayings came in an attempt by the religious leaders to lure Jesus into a trap that would lead to either his rejection by the people or arrest by the Romans.

And they came and said to him, “Teacher, we know that you are true and do not care about anyone’s opinion. For you are not swayed by appearances, but truly teach the way of God. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not? Should we pay them, or should we not?” But, knowing their hypocrisy, he said to them, “Why put me to the test? Bring me a denarius and let me look at it.” And they brought one. And he said to them, “Whose likeness and inscription is this?” They said to him, “Caesar’s.” Jesus said to them, “Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” Mark 12:13-17

Through a smokescreen of flattery, pretended adulation, and false theological inquiry they sought to conceal their own unbelief and entangle the Son of God in a Gordian Knot of controversy.  We see them as petty and pretentious, yet how often do we do the same thing?  Throwing up smokescreens of skepticism of God’s goodness, lip service in our discipleship, or irresolvable theological confusion to shelter in unrepentance and hide from the gracious Lordship of Christ. 

Even when we come to this passage, our focus is too often on the implications of Jesus’ answer regarding Caesar, and too little on what we are to render to God. More significant than Jesus’ teaching regarding our relationship and duty to the civil magistrate is the warning against evading love for God with all our heart, mind, soul and strength through smokescreens of skepticism, lip service and false theological dilemmas.

Join us as we examine Mark 12;13-17 and consider the call to render to God what belongs to him.  We meet Sundays at 10:30 am on the square in Pottsville, Arkansas right next to historic Potts’ Inn for worship.  Get directions here or contact us for more info.  Or join our livestream on YouTube.