In politics during the campaign of 1884 there was a group nicknamed "Mugwumps". They were Republicans who supported Democrat Grover Cleveland for president. They were said to have their "mug" on one side of the fence and their "wump" on the other. They were folks who favored the Republican Party, but were enticed by the Democrat candidate. They wanted the advantages of one party, but the delight of another. They were on the political scene for many years, gradually becoming Bull Mooses or independents.
During my teen years from a Christian perspective, I too was a "Mugwump". I believed in the party of Christianity, but was enticed by the pleasures offered by the Prince of the Air. What I wanted is both ways at once: I wan't the security of salvation and the pleasure of the flesh. My soul was on one side of he fence, but my heart on the other! Being a Christian "Mugwump" is dangerous. With too much of the world Mugwumps can become Bull Mooses and as such stand stubbornly and staunchly in the wrong perspective. As "Mugwumps" fence sitters, people can become independent of God and his will. It's a dangerous fence on which to sit! "Mugwumps" are "double-minded"!
James 1:8 (ESV) "He is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways."A double-minded man tries to serve two masters. Their belief system is made up of two opposing ideas. Orwell called double-mindedness "doublethink", accepting two conflicting beliefs, both as correct. Christian Mugwumps believe that they can be saved by God, but yet enjoy the pleasures of the devil! People who think that way, according to James who was inspired by God:
James 1:6-8 (ESV) "But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways."In order to be double-minded a Christian must have doubts about one or both beliefs, or about God and Satan. Will God truly punish for sin? Does Satan even exist? Mugwumps, or the double-minded, are not firmly established on any ground except for self-idolization and immediate gratification. For myself I sought the peace offered by God, but yet the pleasures of the flesh! I was truly a Mugwump, and to be honest, most people never outgrow that! Satan always tugs at our weaknesses to keep Christians unstable. Unstable people will more likely fall than grounded people!
This Mugwump sat near the front at church and participated. My heart was sensitive to the reproof of the preacher because I was often guilty of all he charged. No., Brother Ralph didn't call me by name, but for me, it was me to whom he preached! Every sermon hit this Mugwump squarely in the mug. Surely Brother Ralph had a private investigator who followed me around and reported on all my sins! How else, would Brother Ralph's Mugwump suit fit me so well?
When I became an adult, and after losing my instability, thanks to God and his minister, Brother Ralph, I queried my old childhood nemesis: "Bro, Ralph, how did you know about my secret sins. Did you hire an investigator?". Brother Ralph just smiled and said "No, Larry. I didn't have an investigator and wasn't preaching just to you. Everybody, if they dared, could apply my sermons to themselves!" (or words to that effect).
"Free at last! Free at last!" I no longer had an investigator following me around... or did I? One of the assignments of the Holy Ghost is to convict of sin!
John 14:26 (ESV) "But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you."The Holy Ghost is our "checker". As we're tempted, he is there to remind us what Jesus stands for! He's the one who warns us of guilt and it's unpleasantness, and if we sin, ensures that we feel guilt. Guilt is a good thing! It's from God and is his tool to put Christians squarely on God's side of the fence! The Holy Ghost is anti-Mugwump. He puts principle into our faith. By that I mean, we do God's will, not our own, if we listen, and as such Mugwumps are shot down from their perch atop that fence!
I thought that the preacher was having me followed (just kidding)! However, I did believe, as a teen, that preachers had special powers. I thought that the preacher could see right through me and my facade'. As Poe's Tell-Tale Heart, my preacher could hear that beat-beat-beat as the guilt caused my heart to pump ever so loudly! Surely, not only he, but all the saints could hear my tell-tale heart! My heart gave me away and the preacher knew my heart.
As I matured, I did learn one thing: my preacher did have special super-human powers. I had made him a Superman of a type, and I was right. Brother Ralph had super-powers, but they weren't of him, but God! Brother Ralph was at God's disposal and preached what God inspired him. He not only preached about God's love, mercy and salvation, but about sin and hell as well! The Holy Ghost was his "investigator" who told him men's secrets, including mine. He preached what the Spirit told him to preach because that's what people needed to hear! Brother Ralph, led by the Holy Ghos,t knew this Mugwump's heart and shattered the fence on which I sat. Both my mug and my wump fell off onto the side of God!
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