Gone Fishing

It's been a while since I last posted, and I still haven't gotten a good blogging time nailed down yet. Hopefully, I'll be able to get back into a groove pretty soon, but this college thing isn't always as easy as everyone makes it out to be. Sorry for the delays, and thanks for still reading!

Anyway, I heard a story from a friend at school the other day. He heard it from a Creole storyteller that he used to work with, and he heard it from one of his Creole friends that lives in Louisiana. As many times as it's been passed along, I doubt it's true, but it makes for a great story. Check it out:

There was a guy who lived down in the swamps of Louisiana, and he made his living as a fisherman. Every morning, he'd take his boat out into the bayou, and every evening, he'd come back into town with a huge catch of fish.

The man's fishing prowess was the stuff of legend. The locals never tired of trying to figure out the Creole's secret. Maybe it was the bait he used, or maybe he had a secret fishing spot. Perhaps he had some special kind of lure? Some even said that he was able to talk the fish into his net.

The local game warden, on the other hand, suspected that something fishy (pun intended) was afoot. Anyone who regularly had such big catches, he reasoned, had to be doing something illegal. One evening, the game warden approached the old Creole fisherman and asked, "Excuse me, but would you mind telling me how you catch so many fish?"

The game warden was out of uniform, and the fisherman didn't recognize him. "You come out with me tomorrow morning, and I'll show you my secret," he replied. After all, he thought, what can it hurt?

The next morning, the game warden went out on the fisherman's boat to the man's favorite fishing spot. Much to the warden's surprise, the Creole didn't have a fishing pole, bait, or lures. He just had a net and a small wooden box. Maybe the rumors about him talking the fish into his net are right, he thought to himself.

He quickly realized that the rumors couldn't have been more wrong, however. The fisherman removed a stick of dynamite from the wooden box, lit it, and tossed it into the swamp. When it exploded, the Creole motored around the swamp and started picking up the dead fish with his net.

"You know that fishing like this is illegal, don't you?" The warden asked. "Let 'em catch me," the Creole man replied. "Well," the warden said, "I'm the local game warden, so you are caught. I'm going to have to take you in."

The fisherman calmly lit another stick of dynamite and handed it to the game warden. With a smile, the Creole said, "You gonna talk, or you gonna fish?"

*     *     *     *     *

The fisherman was a pretty clever guy. By handing over the stick of dynamite, he left the warden with only two options. If the warden held onto the dynamite, he would've killed both himself and the fisherman. And if he threw the dynamite, he would've been breaking the law, and the fisherman would've witnessed it. 

When the man said, "You gonna talk, or you gonna fish?", he meant it. Those were truly the warden's only two options---either hold the dynamite and talk, or throw the dynamite and fish. Not neither. Not both. One or the other. The warden had a choice to make. 

In His day, Jesus spent a lot of time with fisherman, and while I doubt He ever tried fishing with dynamite, He did ask people, "You gonna talk, or you gonna fish?" Not in those exact words, of course, but the gist of the question was the same. Confused? This might clear things up:

A certain ruler asked him, "Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?" "Why do you call me good?" Jesus answered. "No one is good---except God alone. You know the commandments: 'Do not commit adultery, do not murder, do not steal, do not give false testimony, honor your father and mother.' "

"All these I have kept since I was a boy," he said. When Jesus heard this, he said to him, "You still lack one thing. Sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me." When he heard this, he became very sad, because he was a man of great wealth. 

Luke 18:18-23 (NIV)

In the passage, a rich man comes to Jesus seeking eternal life. The man seems devoted to doing whatever it takes to get to heaven, and he's followed the commandments ever since he was young. This seems all well and good, until Jesus offers the man a choice. You gonna follow your wealth, or you gonna follow me? You gonna talk, or you gonna fish?

Not both. Not neither. One or the other. Jesus gave the man a choice, and he didn't like his options. He wanted to follow Jesus, but if that meant giving up his wealth, it was a no-go. The man's intentions were good until he found out that following Jesus is an all-or-nothing affair. He was set on learning the way to heaven until he realized that there was a choice involved.

It might seem as though Jesus' words to the man were a little harsh, but really, they're not. Jesus knew that the man wasn't ready to truly follow Him, and the fact that he wasn't willing to give up his wealth proved it. If the man had really been devoting to following Jesus, he would've given up everything he had in an instant.

I think that sometimes, we lose sight of what being a Christian is really about. It's not about following Jesus when we feel like it. It's not about loving Him when we're in the mood. When we make a commitment to follow Jesus, we make a commitment to follow Him alone and to love Him above all else. (Matthew 10:37-38)

That's something we should take seriously, but sometimes, we don't. Instead of being on fire for Jesus, we try to live somewhere between hot and cold, and that's not right. (Revelation 3:15-16) We try to skirt the line between following Jesus and following the world, and that's not right either. (Mark 9:40)

Like the rich man in the passage from Luke, a lot of Christians know how to talk the talk. They can say some Bible verses, they can talk about how great Jesus is, and they can put on an awfully convincing show at church. But knowing the right words doesn't make a person a Christian.

Talk is cheap. The game warden in the story could've talked about fishing with dynamite until he was blue in the face, but if he didn't actually act on his words---if he didn't actually throw the dynamite into the water---he would've been fish food before he had a chance to turn blue in the face.

The same reasoning applies to the Christian life. Talking about being a Christian isn't the same as being one. Talking about following Jesus isn't the same as actually doing it. Being a Christian isn't about talking the talk; it's about walking the walk. 

Following Jesus wholeheartedly isn't easy, popular, or trendy. Jesus promised His disciples that the world would give them trouble if they were serious about following Him, and if we're serious about following Jesus, we can expect trouble too. (John 15:18-19)

As difficult as it is, though, truly living for Jesus is well worth the effort. He made a commitment to take the sins of the whole world upon Himself so that we could be free, and He didn't back down. The least we can do in return is to try our hardest to keep our commitments to follow Him.

You gonna talk, or you gonna follow?