Straddle

Elijah appealed to all the people and said, “How long will you straddle the issue? If the Lord is God follow him; if Baal, follow him.” The people, however, did not answer.
– 1 Kings 18:21

Elijah is urging the people to stop being of two minds, and decide who to follow. The people of Israel cannot decide to follow Ball or the Lord until Elijah proves to them who is the real God. Many times, the Children of Israel have fallen away from God’s favor. They have worshiped false gods, idols, and participated in debauchery. When such occurrences happened, the Lord would punish those involved. He may exercise His wrath personally, as with Sodom and Gomorrah, or indirectly when Israel was enslaved by Egypt.

While we may not witness God’s direct intervention, as those in the Old Testament did, we are still warned not to be so indecisive. Jesus tells his disciples that they cannot serve two masters, in Matthew 6:24. Our devotion can either be to God or to the worldly pleasures. God gave us freedom to choose, but we will be held accountable for our actions. Jeremiah tells us that God knows our hearts and will judge each of us accordingly in 17:10.

We may be able to fool others, or even ourselves; it is impossible to fool God. Either you are a follower of Christ or you are not. Either you believe Jesus died and rose again, or you don’t. Either you want to be approved in God’s eyes or you don’t. It’s easy to deceive others, they don’t know what our true motivation may be. Even our actions can be misleading or only done half-heartily. Just going to church doesn’t make you a Christian. If your faith bares bad fruit, it’s because your faith in not genuine. Jesus warns us of this in Matthew 7:15-23.

As Christians, our faith should bare good fruit, or good works. Our faith should be in God alone. We may not receive our rewards for such devotion while on this planet, but once in heaven we will receive what we deserve. This life will last no more than roughly 100 years. Compare that to eternity, and it’s obvious who one should follow. As humans, one of our weaknesses is wanting everything now. This has never been more true than today.

We are accustomed to receiving whatever we want right when we want it. We can place an order from a restaurant and have it delivered in a matter of minutes. We can even purchase a computer table, and have it delivered the very next day. These aren’t inherently bad, but it does give us the mindset of immediate gratification. We don’t want to have to wait in line for groceries, much less wait to receive our reward in heaven when we die.

There is nothing wrong with accumulating worldly possessions as long as they don’t take the place of seeking God. The world has much to offer, and unlike heaven, we can experience these immediately. When having possessions is more important than following Jesus, that is when we fall away from God. As we live our lives, we must remember this life is temporary. Keep our eyes on the prize at the end of the road. Choose your path, but choose wisely. Plan for eternity, not just for next year.