I Pledge Allegiance to God
Wednesday, July 12, 2023
“Are you thorough in the things of God? Has grace gone to the very center of your being so that its divine operation is felt in all your powers, your actions, your words, and your thoughts? To be sanctified, spirit, soul, and body, should be your aim and prayer; and although sanctification might not be complete in you, still it must be at work in you. There must not be the appearance of holiness in one place and reigning sin in another.” – Charles Haddon Spurgeon
Every once in a while, I will hear a story about a person who was caught living a double life. I’m not talking about someone who suffers from bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, or some other mental illness. Nor am I referring to someone who is demon possessed or demon oppressed. On the contrary, the people in question are con artists who often have two spouses, two houses, and two sets of children… in two different locations.
How their seared conscience allows them to pull off such a stunt is beyond me, but eventually their duplicity comes to light, and everything comes crashing down like a house of cards. The tragic result is great physical, emotional, and psychological pain for everyone involved.
Living a double life should not be an option for a true believer. As much as possible, our public and private lives should be mirror images of each other. For instance, there shouldn’t be a Dale Glading that is designed for public consumption and another version of me that is only revealed behind closed doors. How the world sees us should be the same as what God – and our family – knows about us.
However, truth be told, we all fall short of that ideal balance, including yours truly. All too often, we harbor a “pet sin” or two that we resist publicly acknowledging or fully surrendering to God. But such double-mindedness isn’t pleasing to Him (James 1:5-8), nor is having divided loyalties (see Matthew 6:24 below).
Pledging full allegiance to God – and backing up our words with our actions – should be the aim of every sincere Christian. Admittedly, we won’t fully achieve that goal in this lifetime, but we should be making steady progress towards that end.
“No one can serve two masters: Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.” Matthew 6:24 (BSB)
- Rev. Dale M. Glading, President
