“How long will you go limping between two different opinions? If the Lord is God, follow him; but if Baal, then follow him” (I Kings 18:21).

The above question was posed by the Prophet Elijah to all the leaders of Israel. It’s hard to imagine a more devastating question posed to a rebellious king and his people. Yet the question needed to be asked. Immediately following his question, Elijah summoned all the priests of Baal to the top of Mount Carmel, where the Lord showed the entire nation and its leaders that he was the true God, not the image of Baal they had been worshipping. God took extraordinary means to prove himself to his people.

As I have considered Elijah’s question, it struck me that what he asked many centuries ago is equally relevant in our day. Let me explain. There is barely a week that passes without my interacting with someone who seems to be “limping between two opinions.” In our day, the two competing opinions may not be the Lord God and Baal, but rather between following Christ or embracing the values and mindset of the world. There is a sense in which we all are dealing with “two different opinions.” The question is not whether they exist, but rather which one we follow.

Now as I have thought about Elijah’s question, there is one word that struck me. It’s the word “limping.” I think the prophet used that word for a specific purpose. In the original language, the word means to be lame or to move in a halting manner. Thus, there is something unhealthy about the individual who seeks to entertain Christ and the world at the same time. Walking the line between Christ and the world makes one unhealthy and halting. Jesus put it another way when he said that a man cannot serve two masters. It’s the same idea.  

Here now is where this applies to each of us on a day in and day out basis. I am certain that if we were totally honest, each of us could identify areas in our lives where we are not following Christ as closely as we know we should. We’ve made compromises of one sort and to one degree or another. It’s our everyday battle, the never-ending contrast between our old nature and our new. Yet Elijah framed it for what it is. We say we love Christ, but do we live accordingly? Do we limp along as Christians because we are drawn by the lame allure of the world? 

What I find quite interesting is how the people responded to his question. The end of verse 21 reads, “And the people did not answer him a word.” They knew they were wrong. They had no answer. They knew that Baal had consumed them, not the Lord God. They were speechless. Are you? Are you limping along as a Christian because you are seeking to entertain two “opinions” - the Lord’s and Baal?