The other day, as I waited in the drive-through line at the local In ‘N’ Out Burger, I found myself behind an ancient pickup truck, its bed loaded with old furniture and what I would collectively refer to as “junk.” The truck’s tailgate and rear bumper were plastered with several slogan-printed stickers, some too weather-faded to read, others relatively fresh.

As I read across the back of the truck, I was struck by the contrast between two of the more vividly legible stickers, positioned almost equidistant from center on either side of the tailgate. One little sign proclaimed, “Jesus Christ is the Only Way.” The other read, “Beer, Chicks and Pickups.”

I guess you could call that “keeping one’s options open.”

As odd as it might have appeared, I suppose I shouldn’t have been surprised to see these two stickers occupying the same bumper. After all, many people — many Christians, even — attempt a similar dichotomy throughout life. We want to be religious, certainly religious enough to be viewed as such by the world around us. Yet we also want to immerse ourselves as thoroughly in the habits and consciousness of the world as we can get away with — or believe we can get away with.

Nothing has changed since the days of Elijah the prophet, who some 2,850 years ago challenged the Israelite nation: “How long will you falter between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow Him; but if Baal, follow him” (1 Kings 18:21). It wasn’t as though Israel had abandoned the Lord altogether. They called themselves His people. They exalted His law and His covenant as the stamp of His approval of them above all other people on earth. But, as Elijah observed, the Israelites were “keeping their options open.” While professing allegiance to the true and living God, they wanted to remain free to enjoy all the carnal benefits of worshiping Baal, the idol of the Canaanites.

My truck-driving acquaintance’s bumper stickers illustrate that the Israelite attitude is alive and well today. And, to be honest, most of us harbor some measure of that attitude, though we may not be quite so blatant in displaying it. Christians though we may call ourselves, Baalites we are, metaphorically speaking, in many aspects of our lives.

The apostle Paul pointed back to the Israelites of Moses’ day and warned the Corinthians, “Do not become idolaters as were some of them. As it is written, ‘The people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play’” (1 Corinthians 10:7). Paul went on to remind them, “You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons; you cannot partake of the Lord’s table and of the table of demons” (1 Corinthians 10:21). We try, though, don’t we?

We can’t straddle both sides of the spiritual fence, any more than a soldier can change uniforms in the middle of a battle, or a ballplayer on one team can grab his glove and play defense for the opposing club. We must choose a side and accept the consequences, recognizing that the choice we make necessarily excludes many of the perceived benefits of the other side. If we genuinely believe that “Jesus Christ is the only way,” we’ll have to forego the carnal pleasures of the world — the “beer, chicks and pickups,” so to speak. If, on the other hand, we crave what the world offers, we’ll forfeit any pretense of standing with the Lord’s army.

“No one can serve two masters,” Jesus rightly affirmed (Matthew 6:24). He as our Master isn’t interested in owning disciples who continually look back over their shoulders at the world they should have left behind (Luke 9:62), after the manner of Lot’s spouse-turned-saltshaker (Luke 17:31-33).

Inspect the tailgate of the truck you’re driving through life. Do your “bumper stickers” send mixed messages? Do you follow Jesus with your lips, but Satan with your actions? Will you make a choice, and stick to it (Joshua 24:15)? Or are you trying to “keep your options open”?