James W. Moore - Do You Have Alligator Arms?: Embracing Life, Hope, and God

S CRIPTURE: M ARK 10:17-22

Alligator arms is a football term often used by coaches, players, or television commentators to describe and criticizea would-be receiver who keeps his arms protectivelyand timidlyin close to his ribs instead of stretching out full length to catch the ball because he senses a tackler bearing down on him and he is more interested in protecting himself from the hard hit than in catching the ball. The commentator might say something like this: "He's open. The ball is there, but it's off his fingertips, incomplete. Too bad he had alligator arms on that one."

Our son, Jeff, and our son-in-law, Danny, are fun together. Their families live near each other in Dallas, so they are together quite a bit. Whenever they are in the same house, the same car, the same restaurant, the same space (wherever that may be), there is a lot of laughter.

Recently, they were telling me about an experience they had in a fancy restaurant in North Dallas. Some of Jeff's in-laws, Uncle Joe and Aunt Nancy, came to town for a visit. Jeff and his wife, Claire, and Danny and his wife, Jodi (our daughter), decided to take Uncle Joe and Aunt Nancy out to dinner in one of the nicest restaurants in the city. Jeff and Danny knew up front that the meal would be expensive so they agreed to share the expense. However, when the sumptuous meal was over, Jeff and Danny discovered to their surprise that sometime during the meal, Uncle Joe had slipped away from the table, found the waiter discreetly, and paid the bill in full, including the hefty tip. When Jeff and Danny told me about this, teasingly, I said to them: "Do you mean to tell me that you took Uncle Joe and Aunt Nancy out to dinner at this elegant restaurant as your guests, and you let Uncle Joe pay for it?" "O yeah," they said. "We got 'alligator arms'!" "Alligator arms?" I said. "What in the world is that?" Grinning, they said, "That's when the check comes you do this: You pull your arms up tight against your chest and then with short arms like an alligator you say, 'I'll get it! I'll get it!' but you don't really reach out to pick it up and pay the price!"

Now, of course, Jeff and Danny (both former high school and college football wide receivers) were just joking and clowning around with their alligator arms. They fully intended to pay the bill, but the truth is that it's really a pretty common attitude in our world today. Lots of folks today live daily in the spirit of alligator arms. They talk a good game, but they don't really want to pay the price. They want good schools for our children, but they really expect somebody else to take care of that. They want our nation to be strong and good and virtuous and prosperous, but they want somebody else to see to that. They want great churches in our communities, but they are more than glad to let somebody else pick up the tab.

Sadly, this is especially true in the church. People want effective Sunday school classes, creative youth programs, and outstanding music, but they don't want to teach the children or jump on the hayride truck with the youth or sing in the choir. They get alligator arms. They talk big, but they really want somebody else to pay the price.

Now, this alligator-arms attitude is not new. It's as old as the Bible. In fact, that was the Rich Young Ruler's problem. He sort of wanted to follow Jesus, but he got alligator arms and couldn't make the leap of faith, couldn't make the commitment, and couldn't pay the price.

Remember the story with me. Jesus is on his way to Jerusalem, on his way to the cross when the Rich Young Ruler runs up and kneels before Christ. Notice this "he runs up"a sign of enthusiasm; "he kneels"a sign of respect and reverence. So, we can assume here that this young man is not trying to trap Jesus with a loaded question as others tried, but that he is really genuine and sincere when he asks: "Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?" Jesus answers, "You know the commandments: Do not kill, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not bear false witness, do not defraud, honor your parents." Then the young man answers, "All these I have kept from my youth." Jesus then looks at him with love and says to him, "But you lack one thing: Go sell what you have and give it to the poor and you will have treasure in heaven... and come follow Me."

At this point the Rich Young Ruler gets alligator armshe pulls back. He pulls in. He can't bring himself to make that kind of commitment. He can't reach out to Christ and to others, so he turns away and leaves sorrowfully.

Sometimes I think about that story like this: What if a few moments later the Rich Young Ruler had changed his mind and decided to respond in faith and take on the cost of discipleship and follow Jesus? I can see him running back to that place where he had talked to Jesus earlier, to that place where Jesus had invited him to join the disciple group and come along with them and be one of them. I can just see the Rich Young Ruler anxiously and hurriedly running back, only to discover that Jesus and his disciples have already gone. They have moved on, and he missed it. He missed his moment because he got alligator arms. He pulled back, waited too long, and came back too late.

Now, I don't want to sound overly dramatic, but I have found in my experience that this matter of waiting too long, responding too late, refusing to make a commitment, is the stuff tragedies are made of. Let me ask you something: How is it with you right now? Is there something that you have been putting off and putting off? Are you missing out because you just keep waiting around? Is there some commitment you need to make? Some word you need to say, something you need to do? Let me bring this closer to home and be more specific.