Discussion Jumpstarter
Study leader reference - not a definitive answer
Question 3
Pablo says love can “dry up” because of a “plumbing problem” (blockage, sin, or being “skimpy…tightwads” with love); what specific kinds of “blockage” are most likely in a serious Christian community, and how would you recognize them before they harden into a lifestyle?
Another way to ask: Pablo says love can dry up because something blocks it (sin, selfishness, being “tightwads”). What kinds of blockages might show up in a serious Christian community, and how can you spot them early?
Discussion Jumpstarter
Direct Answer
Based on the transcript, common blockages include sin, withholding love (“skimpy…tightwads”), and inner anger that stops blessing and prayer for others. You recognize them early when love stops flowing outward—especially when you start “whacking back” with words, rehearsing retaliation, or refusing to open the “spigots” toward difficult people.
- Pablo says love dries up because “there’s blockage or sin or something in our lives that doesn’t allow love to flow.”
- He adds another cause: “we’re skimpy with that love…tightwads,” meaning refusal to give love outward.
- He warns from Romans 12: “Bless and do not curse,” and “Don’t allow anger to come up into your heart. We struggle with anger.”
- His spouse example shows an early indicator: when slammed with words, the natural response is to “slam back…harder,” but that does not produce peace or growth.
- His baseball bat fantasy shows how blockage can form internally: fear and anger producing imagined violence that he had to “renounce.”