Don’t Live on the Fence
These people come near to me with their mouth and honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me.
Mark 7:6
On one side of the fence is living the worldly life and on the other side of the fence is living the Godly life. Living on the fence is time sharing your life on both sides of the fence. We can share both sides of the fence by holding on to some sinful behavior, or by justifying a behavior not pleasing to God, or by not giving God first priority in our life. How do we know if we are on the fence, how do we get off the fence and live for God, and how do we stay off the fence?
If we are deliberately hanging on to a behavior displeasing to God, then a decision to change is necessary. This can be difficult, but know that God has a better life and nothing in this world can compare to being close to the Lord. Fellowship with other Christians will greatly help us to get off the fence. Fellowship, prayer, and Bible study work together to pull us off the fence and toward God.
Justifying a behavior not pleasing to God is something we think is approved by God because we have justified it. To overcome this situation: (1) pray that God will reveal any “justified” sin, and (2) seek Godly accountability from a close Christian friend. It’s easy to fall into one or both of these situations because we get comfortable in our lifestyle, and this hinders a surrendered life which lives for Christ. The more our life is Christ, the more fulfilling life becomes.
Living on the fence, we have a divided heart, a heart split between God and the world. Our heart is what the Lord looks at because our heart reveals our character. There are no secrets in our life that are not revealed by our heart. The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart. (1 Samuel 16:7)
Today examine your life and determine if you are sitting on the fence. Ask a Christian friend and determine if there is anything in your life that you think might not be pleasing to God. Ask God every day to help you surrender your heart and monitor your heart by your thoughts.
Prayer: Lord, help me to surrender my heart to you today and keep me off the fence. Guide me in the Spirit to serve you and give me the desire and the ability to serve you. Lord, keep Satan and the world from pulling me toward the fence, and give me your power to overcome anything so I can move further away from the fence. In Jesus name, Amen.