The Dance of Ambivalence

“‘How long will you waver between two opinions?  If the LORD is God, follow him; but if Baal is God, follow him.’  But the people said nothing.  Then Elijah said to them, ‘I am the only one of the LORD’s prophets left, but Baal has four hundred and fifty prophets.’” 2 Kings 18: 21-22.

Elijah was perhaps one of the most courageous men throughout the Bible.  He was certainly one of the few who continued to worship the one true God in the face of unpopular belief.  He stood up against the kingdom administration and took on the entire region to exalt God.  Those in earshot had been attempting to walk a fine line between recognizing God and recognizing all other gods.  Through their unwillingness to choose, they stood for everything instead of standing for the One thing.

Sound familiar?  Elijah’s audience could have just as easily been you and me.  In our culture today it seems that to be socially and politically correct, anything and everything is tolerated.  The gods of the flesh are constantly being fed, stroked and appeased through our focus.   We balance the flesh and spirit everyday as we struggle between what we want and what God wants.  The Hebrew word for waver is also used for the word dance.  ‘Elijah speaks with biting irony:  In her religious ambivalence Israel is but engaging in a wild and futile religious dance.’ NIV Study Bible.

Without the proper focus on and fellowship with God we will go through life dancing a wild and futile religious dance.  When we remain ambivalent about God, our silence displays a dance of its own.   Our faith is wrapped with colored veils, looking more like the hues of the flesh.  The music of the world plays and we dance to its rhythm.  We must take off our dancing veils and stand up for God in a world where so many seem to be seated at the feet of the flesh.