At twelve, my grandfather learned about straddling the fence.
When my grandfather was in middle school, his father died. In a time when women mainly worked at home and the man was the sole breadwinner, the family was in a precarious situation. My grandfather was the only one who could take the reins among three brothers.
With the help of his Uncle Ransom, my grandfather got down from the fence and went to work. Taking care of a mother and several female siblings at such a young age wasn’t easy, but he knew what he had to do and did it. Quitting school meant he’d never secure a job that would pay very much. And it didn’t.
When he later quit farming, he worked at the Paradise Ice Company in Orangeburg, South Carolina, where he worked for the remainder of his career. Though his pay left much to be desired, again, he knew what he had to do and did it.
Elijah wasn’t a fence-straddler either. He summoned almost one thousand prophets and prophetesses of the pagan god Baal to the summit of Mount Carmel and challenged them to a contest to see which god was God. Before the contest began, he asked the people how long they would hesitate between two opinions . . . how long they would live with a divided mind.
Jesus once told people they couldn’t serve God and mammon. Mammon could be money or material possessions. But we can take anything and insert it in the place of mammon. We can’t choose God and Baal. Baal was a fertility god. Worshipping him allegedly brought prosperity and happiness. Our Baal can be anything that proposes to do the same thing.
God presents us with the same question as Elijah did to Baal’s representatives: “How long will you live with a divided mind?” We must choose God as well as the things that represent His nature. We can’t serve Him and other gods. Nor does He want half-hearted service from us after we choose to follow Him. He wants our undivided loyalty—not a divided mind.
Give God your all. He wants it—and deserves it. And when you choose to get off the fence, you’ll experience life as you never have before.
Martin Wiles lives in Greenwood, SC, and is the founder of Love Lines from God. He is a freelance editor, English teacher, pastor, and author. He serves as Managing Editor for both Christian Devotions and Vinewords.net and is an instructor for the Christian PEN (professional editor’s network). Wiles is a multi-published author. His most recent book, Hurt, Hope and Healing: 52 Devotions That Will Lead to Spiritual Health, is available on Amazon. He and his wife are parents of two and grandparents of seven. He can be contacted at [email protected].