Footholds

In chapter 8 of their book Every Man, God’s Man, Steven Arterburn and Kenny Luck challenge men to stand firm by not allowing the Devil to gain a foothold on which further attack can be based.

These footholds occur in every aspect of our lives and knock us spiritually off balance, making it impossible to stand firm in faith. Cover the list below (from page 101 of the above book) with your class and discuss which ones are troublesome for class members.

1. Ted rationalizes spending more money than he makes. Foothold.
2. Scott believes giving to God’s kingdom is optional. Foothold.
3. Chris, a pastor, maintains that counseling women alone is fine. Foothold.
4. Matt habitually uses fear to control his wife and kids. Foothold.
5. John travels for days a week because he doesn’t want to lose his spot in the President’s Club, but [the relationship with] his wife and kids are dying on the vine. Foothold.
6. Dave puffs up his performance on certain accounts to make a good impression with his manager. Foothold.
7. Warren harbors resentment against his wife because she’s rarely responsive to his sexual advances. Foothold.
8. Aaron has developed his own personal theology about drinking: If he ties one on occasionally, it’s no big deal. Foothold.
9. Jay doesn’t think twice about flipping through men’s magazines like Maxim, Gear, and Details at Barnes & Noble. Foothold.
10. Greg doesn’t see anything wrong in renting Monster’s Ball on video, even though he heard Halle Berry does a twenty-minute sex scene early in the movie. Foothold.
11. Darold believes in a personal God but scoffs at those who say that Satan exists.

What might be an equivalent list for women if your class is a couple’s class?