Walter Mitty

Their loyalty is divided between God and the world, and they are unstable in everything they do. James 1:8 NLT

Walter Mitty is a fictional character who lives in a dream world. One in which he is far removed from the mild mannered person he really is. In fact his real life and his hidden life are very far distant from each other, but it’s only a bit of fun, isn’t it, and quite harmless?

The Bible tells us that we are in great danger if our loyalty is divided between God and the world. Yes, we must be in the world, but not of the world. If our loyalty to God is not divided and is clear, we are stable in everything we do. Did you catch that? When our loyalty to God is undivided, we are stable in everything else we do!

Jesus had stern words for the church leaders of His day, and He described them as whitewashed tombs. Clean in appearance on the outside, but inside it’s a different matter. Full of death. We say it another way nowadays and it is every bit as clear.. We must “walk the walk, and talk the talk”. How else will the others around us know which part of us is the real, or greater part if we are divided? Who we say we are, or who we really are?

Are we playing the character of Walter Mitty with spiritual things? Good and pure during a Sunday, but no different than our worldly friends Monday to Saturday? Do you really think they don’t notice? Whether they say it or not, they have already made up their minds if we are loyal and stable. I pray we are up to the challenge, because unlike Walter Mitty, that’s certainly not harmless either to ourselves, or the witness to our friends. It has eternal consequences.