Neither

March Madness is one of my favorite sporting events of the year. Along with millions of other people, I print out a blank bracket of the NCAA tournament and make my predictions. And just like most of the other millions of fans, I watch the games agonizing each time my teams lose. This year is no exception...only this year the madness has been increased. Upsets of some of the top seeded teams have been common instead of rare. As a result, I find myself really enjoying the games while not rooting for either team. My kids ask, "who are you for in this one?" And I reply, "neither, I just hope its a good game."
Neither.
The word sticks out like a sore thumb in a world dominated by either/or's. How can you be for neither team in a contest? How can you watch two competitors and not be for either one? How can you not be one party or another?
I want to suggest that the politics of neither is a very viable option. It isn't a position of passivity or nonchalance. It is not the position of the lazy, but is instead a position of extreme clarity. Here's the beauty of neither:
"Now when Joshua was near Jericho, he looked up and saw a man standing in front of him with a drawn sword in his hand. Joshua went up to him and asked, 'Are you for us or for our enemies?'
" 'Neither,' he replied, 'but as commander of the army of the Lord I have now come.' " (Joshua 5:13-14)
Jesus would answer in similar fashion on several occasions. When confronted with a woman caught in adultery and asked if he would uphold the law of Moses or make a new command (for which they could then stone him, too), Jesus stooped down to write in the dirt and then turned the mob's attention back to their own sinfulness. (John 8) When asked if a blind man was blind because of his own sins or the sins of his parents, Jesus said, "Neither this man nor his parents sinned, but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life." (John 9) Then he healed the man and allowed him to be able to see for the first time in his life.
It is time for Christians to begin looking for neither options. That is to say, it is time for Christians to start looking for God's will...which usually has nothing to do with the two options that are placed before us.
Life as I know it is filled with chances to take a stand on one side or another. But when we have the wisdom to side with neither and simply live as a soldier in the army of the Lord, it is so much better...