Straddling a Fence Will Give You Splinters

“If we profess to serve Christ, He must be our only Master. Do not attempt to serve two masters.” – C.H. Spurgeon

On January 6, 1836, there were only 100 soldiers stationed at the Alamo in San Antonio de Bexar, not enough to hold the mission-turned-fort against the approaching Mexican army. And so, acting commander Col. James C. Neill wrote to Gen. Sam Houston requesting reinforcements. Houston felt that he couldn’t spare the necessary men to mount a successful defense, so he sent 30 men under the command of Col. James Bowie with orders to remove the artillery and then destroy the Alamo.

Bowie was unable to transport the artillery because the garrison lacked the necessary draft animals. Meanwhile, Neill convinced him of the fort’s military significance and so, the two men sent Houston a letter stating that they intended to defend the Alamo even if it cost them their lives.

Eventually, a few reinforcements began to trickle in. The first to arrive were 30 men led by cavalry officer, Lt. Col. William Travis. Five days later, a small group of volunteers showed up, including famed frontiersman Davy Crockett of Tennessee. Finally, about 20 local Tejano dissidents joined the brave band of freedom fighters.

On February 11th, Neill left the Alamo in search of more men and supplies, leaving Col. Travis in temporary command because he was the highest-ranking regular army officer. However, because most of the men defending the Alamo were volunteers, they were unwilling to accept Travis as their commander. Instead, they elected Bowie as their leader. Unfortunately, Bowie celebrated his election by getting drunk and creating havoc in town, forcing him to share command with Travis once he had sobered up, with Bowie leading the volunteers and Travis overseeing the regular army and cavalry troops. Later, when Bowie fell ill, Travis assumed full command of the Alamo forces.

The Alamo fell to Mexican Gen. Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna on March 6, 1836. Santa Anna’s forces outnumbered the Alamo’s defenders 10 to 1 and yet, they were repulsed twice before finally breaching the walls. Casualty estimates for the Texans were between 182 and 257 dead, while 400-600 Mexicans were either killed or wounded.

As courageous as the Alamo’s defenders were, one is left wondering what may have happened if they had all rallied sooner around one leader instead of dividing their loyalties between Bowie and Travis. Could they have developed a better battle plan or recruited more volunteers from the local area?

Tragically, the same can be said of us as believers. Just imagine how much more effective we would be in the Lord’s service if we didn’t try to straddle the fence, with one foot in the world and the other in God’s kingdom.

“But if it is unpleasing in your sight to serve the LORD, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your fathers served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living. As for me and my house, we will serve the LORD!” Joshua 24:15 (BSB)

• Rev. Dale M. Glading, President