GOD is WORTHY!
God is the Great Creator of the universe, of the earth, and of you and me. (Gen 1:1). Therefore, He is worthy to be GLORIFIED.
Since He is worthy to be Glorified, He is also worthy to be OBEYED (2Peter 3:11; John 6:68).
If He is worthy to be Glorified, and worthy to be Obeyed, He is worthy to be DILIGENTLY sought (Heb 11:6).
The last plague of the mind on our list is vacillation, or being like a See-Saw. This plague can be described as a person that is easily pulled away from one thing to another without being resolute on any one thing. This is a problem when dealing with the truth.
Paul described it this way, “That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive” (Eph 4:14).
Being irresolute is different from being indecisive. A See-Saw person bounces back and forth and appears to be very confident about opposing viewpoints.
Elijah said it this way, “How long go ye limping between the two sides? if the LORD be God, follow him: but if Baal, then follow him. And the people answered him not a word” (1Kings 18:21).
He calls it “limping between two sides” (ASV). Everyone can see it, but seldom in ourselves. Let’s see why this plague of the mind is so dangerous.
Our Lord warned us that it’s impossible to SERVE two masters. “No man can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon” (Matt 6:24). He then connects it to anxiety in verse 25, “Therefore I say unto you, be not anxious for your life…”
It’s impossible to serve and please everyone. “For am I now seeking the favor of men, or of God? or am I striving to please men? if I were still pleasing men, I should not be a servant of Christ” (Gal 1:10). If we seek to SERVE man, we will not be a SERVANT of Christ! THIS IS WHY IT’S DANGEROUS!
Another illustration of this comes from Paul, “Know ye not that your bodies are members of Christ? shall I then take away the members of Christ, and make them members of a harlot? God forbid” (1Cor 6:15). We cannot be both a member of the body of Christ while still trying to remain in sin.
Paul would give the solution in his 2nd letter to the Corinthians. “Be not unequally yoked with unbelievers: for what fellowship have righteousness and iniquity? or what communion hath light with darkness? And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what portion hath a believer with an unbeliever? And what agreement hath a temple of God with idols? for we are a temple of the living God; even as God said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. Wherefore Come ye out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, And touch no unclean thing; And I will receive you, And will be to you a Father, And ye shall be to me sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty” (2Cor 6:14-18).
Our next point on this topic comes from this same warning, (quoting from Luke). “No servant can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other” (Luke 16:13).
To limp between two opinions places us in opposition to Christ. We become ENEMIES to God! “Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God” (James 4:4). The Apostle John wrote, “Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him” (1John 2:15). THIS IS WHY IT’S DANGEROUS!
Finally, believing that everyone or anyone’s opinion is the truth ie, “your truth, my truth, we all have truth,” is a belief of confusion. “For God is not the AUTHOR of confusion,” (1Cor 14:33). There is only ONE truth. “There is one body, and one Spirit, even as also ye were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all, and through all, and in all” (Eph 4:4-6).
Recognition of the fact that there is only one truth will move us from duplicity to certainty. It’s here we had our starting place, “that we may be no longer children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, in craftiness, after the wiles of error.” Error leads to sin and sin leads to death. “For it were better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than, after knowing it, to turn back from the holy commandment delivered unto them. It has happened unto them according to the true proverb, The dog turning to his own vomit again, and the sow that had washed to wallowing in the mire” (2Peter 2:21-22).
THIS IS WHY IT’S DANGEROUS! To limp, halt, falter between serving mankind or serving the Lord puts us in an impossibility, puts us in the position of being an enemy of God, and makes us confused! Is it any wonder that people are living wandering, hopeless, and worry filled lives?
The solution is a simple one; CHOOSE TO SERVE THE LORD.
This is the solution that Joshua presented to the Israelites after conquering the promised land, “And if it seem evil unto you to serve the LORD, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD” (Joshua 24:15; emph mine SEB).
Solomon concluded, “Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man” (Ecc 12:13).
This is the same answer Jesus gives when asked what is the greatest commandment, “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment” (Matt 22:37).
When Jesus was being tempted by Satan, this was His answer, “Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve” (Matt 4:10).
Let us be focused, and singular in purpose. Anything else is idolatry.
Agape,
Spencer
Borger church of Christ @ Franklin & Juniper 