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Will We Choose Jesus Or Keep Our Options Open?

Recently, while waiting in the drive-through line at the local fast food restaurant, my wife and I found ourselves behind an old pickup truck filled with junk. The truck’s tailgate and rear bumper were plastered with several slogan-printed stickers, some too weather-faded to read, others relatively fresh. Looking at the rear of the truck, we noticed the sharp contrast between two bumper stickers we could read. One sticker proclaimed, “Jesus Christ is the Only Way.” The other read, “Beer, Chicks and Pickups.” It was obvious to me that the driver of the pickup was “keeping his options open.”

As odd as the contrast of the messages on those bumper stickers were, this writer wasn’t too surprised. After all, many “religious” folks — even some Christians — attempt a similar dichotomy in their lives. We want to appear religious (at least religious enough to be viewed as such by the world around us). Yet, we also want to immerse ourselves as thoroughly in the habits and consciousness of the world as we can get away with (or believe we can get away with).

Human nature has not changed since the days of Elijah the prophet, who some 2,850 years ago challenged the Israelite nation, “How long will you falter between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow Him; but if Baal, follow him” (1 Kings 18:21). It wasn’t as though Israel had abandoned the Lord altogether. They called themselves His people (2 Kings 11:17). They exalted His law and His covenant as the stamp of His approval of them above all other people on earth (Exodus 24:1-8). But as Elijah correctly observed, the Israelites were “keeping their options open.” While professing allegiance to the true and living God, they wanted to remain free to enjoy all the carnal benefits of worshiping Baal, the idol of the Canaanites.

The bumper stickers that my wife and I observed on the rear of the pickup carrying junk, illustrate that the Israelite attitude is alive and well today. It is unfortunate that some Christians harbor some measure of that attitude, though we may not be quite so blatant in displaying it. Even though we may call ourselves “Christians,” our secular lives often reflect “Baal-like” life-styles.

The apostle Paul pointed back to the Israelites of Moses’ day and warned the Corinthian brethren, “Do not become idolaters as were some of them. As it is written, “The people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play” (1 Corinthians 10:7). Paul went on to remind them, “You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons; you cannot partake of the Lord’s table and of the table of demons” (1 Corinthians 10:21). However, in some instances we try to do both, don’t we?

Brethren, we can’t straddle both sides of the spiritual fence, any more than a soldier can change uniforms in the middle of a battle, or a ballplayer on one team can grab his glove and play defense for the opposing club. We must choose a side and accept the consequences, recognizing that the choice we make will necessarily exclude many of the “perceived benefits” of the other side (Hebrews 11:24-26). If we genuinely believe that “Jesus Christ is the only way” (John 14:6; cf. Acts 4:12), we’ll have to forego the carnal pleasures of the world — i.e., the “beer, chicks and pickups.” If, on the other hand, we crave what the world offers, we’ll forfeit any pretense of standing with the Lord’s army.

Our Lord affirmed that, “No one can serve two masters” (Matthew 6:24). As our Master, the Lord isn’t interested in disciples who continually look back over their shoulders at the world they should have left behind (Luke 9:62) — after the manner of Lot’s wife (Luke 17:31-33; cf. Genesis 19:26). Let us therefore thoroughly inspect the tailgate of the pickup truck we’re driving through life.

Do our bumper stickers send mixed messages to the world? Do we follow Jesus with our lips, but Satan with our actions? (Matthew 15:7-8; cf. Isaiah 29:13). Will we make a determined choice of “choosing Jesus” and sticking to it (Joshua 24:15), or will we try to “keep our options open?”