Get Off Satan’s Fence

Sometimes in life it is easier to refuse to take a side in an issue but simply straddle the fence and thus not get involved. For example, when two kids show their dad their art work and ask him which piece he likes most, the smart dad will not choose a side but will stay on the fence. However, there are bigger issues such as the moral battles we find ourselves in the 21^st century when simply straddling and not getting involved isn’t described as smart as much as it’s called cowardly. If one calls him/herself a Christian, he/she must choose a side in matters having to do with right and wrong.

Most of the time, we think of sins as acts we chose to perform that go against God, like lying, cheating, and fighting. However, acts of omission can also go against God and are just as sinful, like failing to act by refraining from helping someone in need or failing to speak out against evil.

When we pray the Confiteor during the Penitential Rite at the beginning of Mass, we express our contrition for sin and ask for God’s mercy by saying, “I confess to almighty God and to you, my brothers and sisters, that I have greatly sinned in my thoughts and in my words, in what I have done, and in WHAT I HAVE FAILED TO DO.”

It was the Apostle James who wrote, “So for one who knows the right thing to do and does not do it, it is a sin” (James 4:17). Similarly, Saint Paul wrote, “Take no part in the fruitless works of darkness; rather expose them” (Ephesians 5:11).

It is said that “silence is compliance.” It is also said that Satan’s favorite color is gray. A major problem with today’s society and many lukewarm Christians is they don’t want to see black and white or take a black or white stand, but would rather stay in the safe gray-zone so to not put their neck on the line. They choose to straddle the fence on moral issues in which they should act upon or speak out on, but when straddling they are actually sitting with Satan – the father of lies, the serpent, the enemy of God. Satan loves to have people sit silently and cowardly on the fence while evil is being perpetuated on the ground. 

There is a story of a man who proudly took his seat on the fence and declared his principled stance of not choosing a side and not admonishing the immoral acts others were engaging in, so as to not hurt the feelings of these sinners. He was congratulating himself for his openness and neutrality until one day when the devil came up to sit next to him, whispering in the man’s ear, “Thank you so much for joining me. Come along now and follow me.” The man protested, “I don’t belong to you. I’m on the fence!” Satan matter of factly replied, “Oh, but you do belong to me. I own the fence.”

The Venerable Archbishop Fulton Sheen once said:

“Too many people get credit for being good, when they are only being passive. They are too often praised for being broadminded when they are so broadminded they can never make up their minds about anything.”

Too many people these days refuse to actively and loudly take a side regarding our culture’s vital, contentious, moral issues either because they believe it is virtuous to be tolerant and open-minded or because they are scared to speak out in fear of being shunned, of getting “canceled,” or of being called names like “bigot,” “hater,” and “[insert any word here]-phobe.” They choose to sin through omission, to comply with the immoral world, and to abandon their once Biblical worldviews so to be seen by today’s godless culture as politically correct and so-called tolerant.  

There is a Bible account where during a time of widespread apostasy and faithlessness among the Jewish people around 850 B.C., the Prophet Elijah appealed to the people of Israel by saying to them, “How long will you straddle the issue? If the Lord is God, follow him; if Baal, follow Him” (1 Kings 18:21).

The Baals were the false gods of the Canaanites. True faith in God was being suppressed and false ideologies connected with Baal were being promoted by the ruling political leaders, so it was safer – yet cowardly – to be faithful to Baal than to be faithful to the Lord God.  

So Elijah’s question to lukewarm Israelites could be asked today to lukewarm Christians: “How long will your straddle the issue?” Will you choose the safety of not speaking or acting out against political correctness and the powerful forces that have created our immoral culture – i.e., corrupt government officials, a dishonest news media and vile social media, a depraved entertainment industry, a so-called LGBTQIA2S+ movement, and an untrustworthy education system? Will you choose to sin through omission, failing to take a black or white stance against the evils of today’s society, such as the promotion of abortion, euthanasia, homosexual acts, and so-called transgenderism? Will you choose Baal?

In Elijah’s time, the people did not want to answer. Scripture says that they just stood there, silent. But silence does not make the choice go away. In fact, silence to a basic question about choosing God or making other moral choices becomes an answer in itself. When it’s so obvious the answer is either black or white, it can be a sin to choose to be gray, to stay silent, and to sit with Satan on his fence.

Now, you can lie to yourself about sinning through omission (recall the Confiteor prayer: “in what I have failed to do”), and argue that you don’t speak out about society’s evils because you are simply being “Christian” by tolerating others’ choices and not hurting the feelings of the so-called opponents. However, to those justifying their inaction, Saint James rebukes, “Unfaithful creatures! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God” (James 4:4).

Recent generations have mistakenly valued people choosing to at least remain neutral or at most act tolerantly when it comes to accepting any morality, any lifestyle, any choice that others make. I’m not saying one should be abusive to those who flaunt disordered sexuality or who promote abortion, as we need to be dignified, but we cannot remain indifferent else we are being offensive to the teachings of our Lord. Jesus said, “He who is not with Me is against Me” (Matthew 12:30). Being neutral on matters of faith and morality is not actually being neutral at all; it’s choosing to separate oneself from God.

If on moral matters we stay silent, if we refuse to decisively choose either black or white, and if we straddle Satan’s fence, we are complicit in sinning. As difficult as it may seem, it’s time for more Christians to stop being afraid of the cultural blowback. We must remember that with God, we can do anything!

“ Be strong and of good courage, do not fear or be in dread of them: for it is the Lord your God who goes with you; he will not fail you or forsake you.” (Deuteronomy 31:6).

As authentic – not lukewarm – Christians, we have a moral duty to actively promote the truths given to us by the Father and the Son. When we see the evils of today’s secular world, such as the promotion of abortion, euthanasia, homosexual acts, and so-called transgenderism, we must act out and speak up against them.

You will find you can be courageous and have no fear of getting off of Satan’s fence because God’s grace will be with you as you share His Word and follow Jesus’s Truths. You will be genuinely demonstrating a love of your neighbors when you help them see the errors of their ways so they can repent and get to heaven.

As a final point, ponder the Prophet Ezekiel’s account of when the Word of God spoke to him about the wrong of neglecting one’s duty to act out and speak out : 

“If I [God] say to the wicked, You shall surely die – and you do not warn them or speak out to dissuade the wicked from their evil conduct in order to save their lives – then they shall die for their sin, but I will hold you responsible for their blood. If, however, you warn the wicked and they still do not turn from their wickedness and evil conduct, they shall die for their sin, but you shall save your life” (Ezekiel 3:18-19).