On a walk last week, I saw a group of turkeys sitting on a fence. It got me thinking about how we can become so afraid of offending someone that we shy away from expressing the truth, especially about hot-button social issues. To a passerby who wants to see a functioning faith, they instead see someone sitting on the fence living without clarity and definition.

A quick survey of various dictionaries offers definitions for the colloquial use of the word “turkey” as it applies to a person. It describes a foolish or inept person. In theatrical productions, it is defined as a failure, or flop. In other words, it defines a person unable or unwilling to decide between two choices. Instead, they choose to remain on the fence in place of disengaged isolation and the naive assumption of safety in an undefined position.

Our faith in the marketplace of life requires clarity. Clarity comes when we understand and express how God’s truth applies to the issues of life and then take a position on the side of truth.  To remain on the fence in a position of compromise does little to help the Church maintain her integrity or advance God’s Kingdom. 

If we assume a fence-sitting expression of our faith, we will appear to the surrounding culture like the turkeys I saw on my walk sitting atop a fence. Our lives will lack the kind of clarity needed to keep our faith engaged and alive in the real world where the clarity of truth matters.