Limping Between Two Gods

21 And Elijah came near to all the people and said, “How long will you go limping between two different opinions? If the Lord is God, follow him; but if Baal, then follow him.” And the people did not answer him a word. – 1 Kings 18:21

Elijah was a prophet of God and as any prophet, he felt the tension. There is an all too real conflict in this world when you choose to follow Him. While it is often easy to connect to our creator within the confines of our safe spaces, it is never as simple once we enter the world of public opinion. Most people you will meet will express a belief in a god, yet this is equivalent to belief in Baal. They accept what has been passed to them through history, family, and folk religion without digging for themselves. The result is a superstition that lacks any lasting power.

The question we must be confronted with then is “How does my life match my convictions?”

If God is my god, then how do my choices, thoughts, and words play out this truth? I fear my heart is divided. It is all too easy to be disrupted by the cloak of this world – so easy to cling to watered down principles that do not illustrate the Gospel. Are we simply limping between two options? Has a love of culture blinded me from a greater calling?

Perhaps nowhere is this tension greater than the media we consume. We say we follow God, yet indulge in media that celebrates values opposed to Him. We say we want our lives to imitate Him, yet we shape our faith to look more like our opinions than His truth. The influence of the world is often insidious. We can never truly understand its influence until we stop limping and start kneeling.

Lord, give us clear eyes to see what pleases you. May we never hold to our views over yours.