One who went to a Christian Science practitioner for aid in solving a problem was told, among other things, to decide what he believed or disbelieved concerning man and his relationship to God. "It is time to stop straddling," said the practitioner.
The word "straddle," in colloquial usage, means "to be noncommittal, or to favor or seem to favor two apparently opposite sides." Sometimes politicians are said to straddle issues of public concern. People operating in the stock market are sometimes called straddlers when they buy long in one stock and sell short in another. Also, one may be called a straddler if he fails to maintain a decided stand in connection with his religious opinions.
James declares (1:8), "A double minded man is unstable in all his ways." And in I Kings we read (18:21), "How long halt ye between two opinions? if the Lord be God, follow him: but if Baal, then follow him." Christ Jesus emphasized the importance of being single-minded. The Master said (Matt. 6:24), "No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other."
