For the last fifty years, I have had the privilege of helping men explore and find their faith. In my twenties, I worked with teenagers as a volunteer leader with Young Life. In my thirties, I taught Bible studies and investigative studies with Young Business Leaders. Twenty-five years ago, I started The Center, where I have continued to meet with men who are asking questions about God, faith, and the meaning of life.

As I look back over these years, one thing continues to amaze me: the reasons men give for not putting their faith in Christ. I have sat across the table from men who have questioned the existence of God, doubted the truth of the Bible, and raised intellectual objections to Christianity. But I have also discovered something deeper and, in many ways, more troubling: sometimes a man can come to believe that Christianity is true and still choose to walk away from it. Why would someone recognize the truth and yet refuse to act upon it?

I remember a number of years ago spending several hours carefully explaining to an old friend the dynamics of the Christian faith. After addressing various issues, he decided to do nothing. As he reasoned with me, “I am sure that what you have shared with me is the truth, but I am going to stay on the path I am on.” Later, it struck me that what he had actually said was that he recognized that the Christian faith was the truth, but he was going to reject the truth.

As I go back in time, I am appalled at how often I failed to act upon that which I knew to be the right thing to do. Why do we so often look truth in the eye and then go the other way?

When confronted with the fact that a decision must be made many people find it palatable to come up with an excuse instead of saying they outright reject God. A number of years ago a businessman asked that I meet with him to exchange opinions on certain religious issues that interested him. The first week we met I decided to discuss the validity of the Bible. Before I could utter my first sentence, he interrupted and let me know that he was not sure that he even believed God existed. I spent the next hour sharing with him the evidence which I believe points to God’s existence. At the end of the hour, he made it clear that I had not convinced him, but he would like to continue to meet.

A week later, we reconvened, and I gave him my arguments on the validity of the Bible. He appeared interested, if not fascinated, by what I shared, and we agreed to continue to meet.

Several weeks later, as we concluded our session, he startled me by humbly admitting that he really did believe in God, but that he was afraid to give his life to Christ. He was afraid of what others might think, and he feared that being a Christian might affect his career and his social standing.

I am not sure whatever happened to this man, for it has been 30 years ago that we met. I share this incident because it offers two valuable insights:

1. Pride is primarily what keeps people from giving their lives to Jesus Christ. It is pride in our lives which causes us to fear what other people will think. We fear that a public profession of a belief in God will ruin our lives.
2. Many people choose to use smoke screens to hide the fact that they have chosen to keep God out of their lives. For instance, it was more palatable for this businessman to postpone a decision that to say outright I reject God.

The truth is that there is no neutral ground when it comes to Jesus Christ. We may question, investigate, and wrestle with our doubts, but eventually we must decide what we will do with what we have come to believe. The question is not simply, “Is Christianity true?” The deeper question is, “If it is true, what will I do about it?”

Richard E Simmons III is the founder and Executive Director of The Center for Executive Leadership and a best-selling author.