Out Our Way: Wyo-Braska

1 Kings 18:21 "If the Lord be God, follow Him, but if Baal, then follow him."

Out our way, ranches can cross county and even state lines.

Years ago I had friends whose ranch had such an issue. The region of the Nebraska panhandle and eastern Wyoming is called "Wyo-Braska" by the locals and the ranch house sat right on the line. The ranch had to be registered in one state or the other, so the debate was which state had jurisdiction: Wyoming or Nebraska?

Eventually the states decided that whichever side of the states' line the ranch house bedroom was on, that was the state that could claim the ranch on its tax rolls. With the help of a surveyor, while it was determined the kitchen was in Wyoming, the bedroom across the hall was found to be on the Nebraska side of the line. So the ranch was officially declared to be in Nebraska.

Now I do not equate Wyoming or Nebraska with the Lord or Baal - My eldest was born in Wyoming, his brother in Nebraska - but despite the locals considering Wyo-Braska as one area, the truth is, Wyoming and Nebraska are not the same state. Cheyenne and Lincoln do not share jurisdiction. If you live in Wyoming, Cheyenne has a claim. If you live in Nebraska, it is Lincoln.

Now Elijah called on the people to stop trying to pull a "Wyo-Braska "stunt with divided loyalties between the Lord and the pagan god, Baal. You may pretend you can be both faithful and pagan at the same time ... just as today folks can claim to be Christian and secular at the same time. "Nope. Nu-uh, Can't be did" as the character "Cotten" in the original "Out Our Way" cowboy cartoons had put it.

That is Elijah's statement as well - although not being a cowhand, he was a bit more formal and articulate. You can't straddle the line. There is no "Wyo-Braska" territory for the Lord's people. You are either the Lord's totally, or you are a pagan regardless of your Church membership. That is a major issue today, as some "Medicine Show "preachers" quote the Bible but ignore its teachings. They fool thousands of gullible folks into supporting their vast wealth gathering nonsense. At the same time these days, we also have many well-meaning folks who have fallen hook, line and sinker for the secular and follow pop culture hypocrisies.

These are the modern residents of a non-existent "Wyo-Braska" as both claim to worship the Lord while also worshiping Baal. Elijah speaks the Word of the Lord here: "There is no Wyo-Braska. Either you live in Wyoming or you live in Nebraska, Where is your bedroom?" I confess I am far too often trying to live in Wyo-Braska , straddling both faithfulness and cultural paganism as if they can be combined. They cannot. "If the Lord is God, then follow Him. If Baal, then follow him!" You must decide. This says the Lord: "Theological and spiritual Wyo-Braska does not exist."

Be blessed and be a blessing!

Brother John

--

The Rev. John Bruington is the retired pastor of First Presbyterian Church of Havre. He now lives in Colorado, but continues to write "Out Our Way." He can be reached for comment or dialogue at [email protected].