Flexetarians

If you have read Kyle Idleman's book Not a Fan, you know what I'm talking about.  Idleman tells about a new group of vegetarians who feel free to eat meat when they feel like it.  As one young lady said, "I usually eat vegetarian.  But I really like sausage."  She further explained, "I really like vegetarian food, but I'm just not 100 percent committed."  Because so many "100 percent committed" vegetarians objected to such people using their label, those like the young lady chose "flexetarians" as a name for themselves.

Idleman goes on to observe: "'Flexetarian' is a good way to describe how many people approach their commitment to Christ.  And that's the way many Christians approach their commitment to Jesus and the Bible. I really like Jesus--but I don't really like serving the poor--I'm not real big into the idea of going to church--my resources are already spoken for.  I love Jesus--but don't ask me to save sex for marriage.  I love Jesus--but don't ask me to forgive the person who hurt me.  I love Jesus but I'm not 100 percent committed.  They call themselves Christians.  They follow Jesus but they've made some exceptions.  So when bacon is on the menu, their commitments can be adjusted."

Idleman's comments come in a chapter explaining what Jesus meant when He called all those who would come after Him to deny themselves (Luke 9:23).  The biblical illustration is the rich, young ruler who would not give up his wealth.  Jesus must be more important to us than anything or anyone, even ourselves.  We cannot make exceptions.

If I had been writing the chapter, I would have included that many people think they can follow Jesus yet not get involved in making disciples of all nations.  When that issue comes up, the number of "flexetarians" increases dramatically.  Let's pray that we will not be one of them.