Neutral

I'm sharing part of an article written by a friend. The beginning of the article tells how this friend now preaches in a town that will be playing their first playoff football game here in Tipton Friday night.  This is his hometown - where he graduated from in 1973 and moved from .  So, he has a dilemma.  

Some are asking, "Who will you root for?"

My friend and his wife will sit on the opponents' side, so that they can visit with friends they haven't seen in a while. He said he would wear his hometown team's cap and his shirt will be the team from where he lives now. He'll support both and cheer for both.

But, my friend will tell you about how that doesn't work in our Christian walk. God doesn't want us to remain neutral.  Here's that part of his story:

            As I pondered my attempt to explain my neutrality, I thought about my Christian walk.  Can I remain neutral and be pleasing to God? 

            Isaiah wrote, “but your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, and your sins have hidden his face from you so that he does not hear” (Isaiah 59:1-2).   And Jesus stated, “Whoever is not with me is against me” (Matthew12:30).

            Just these two passages alone tell me that God doesn’t care for neutral—no fence-straddlers allowed.

            During my 58 years of living, I have been guilty of not always making the wisest of choices, but then again I’m just a stupid human—which, by the way, is a scriptural term.  Read Jeremiah 51:17 in the English Standard Version where he penned, “Every man is stupid and without knowledge.”

            I’ve never had problems with the commands like "Don’t kill; "Don’t steal";  "Remain faithful to your spouse," etc., but James surely gets my goat by penning, “So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin” (James 4:17).

            How many times have we broken that command?

            If I truly want to be Christ’s friend, not only must I obey His commandments (John 15:14), but also I have to study His word to know what those commandments are (2 Timothy 2:15; 2 Timothy 3:16-17).

            I can do all I can to remain neutral at this week’s playoff game, but I can’t be neutral when it comes to the Word of God.  I have to be either for Him or I’m against Him. 

            Luke wrote, “And now I say to you, keep away from these men and let them alone; for if this plan or this work is of men, it will come to nothing;  but if it is of God, you cannot overthrow it—lest you even be found to fight against God” (Acts5:38-39).