Being Wide Open Throttle Means Being Committed.

Mike Hosey

Being Wide Open Throttle means taking a risk. If you twist that throttle all the way around, or if you press that pedal all the way to the floor then you are going to take off, go fast, and feel some power. It’s risky business. In order to “safely” go Wide Open Throttle, you have to be committed to the risk, the speed, and the excitement. If you’re not committed, then you’ll second guess at the wrong time, and that can be quite dangerous.

John the Baptist had the right kind of commitment to live Wide Open Throttle, and that’s exactly what he did! It had been prophesied that he would herald Jesus into his ministry (Matthew 3:3). John lived that prophesy out (Matthew 3:1-16)! He lived in the wilderness eating locusts and wild honey, and dressed in coarse robes of camel hair and a leather belt. He probably looked like something out of The Hobbit, or some other fantasy movie. He baptized those who came to him and confessed their sins. When the religious leaders of the day came to watch him baptize those people, he chastised them. He called them a brood of vipers -- which would would have been akin to a number of modern profane insults. Talk about taking a risk. Then after calling them such a derogatory name, he schooled them on how being a child of Abraham wasn’t measured by bloodlines, but by behavior. He then indirectly referenced Jesus, and hinted to those religious leaders that they may be burned up like worthless chaff.

John the Baptist didn’t pull any punches. He twisted the throttle all the way the way for the kingdom of God. So much so that Jesus referenced him as the greatest prophet (Matthew 11:9-11). Imagine Jesus calling you the greatest prophet of anyone before you!

John kept the throttle wide open all the way to his death. In his last days, his life had intersected with the life of Herod, the king of Galilee. Herod had been flirting and dabbling with incestuous ideas and relationships. John warned him that this was against the law of God. This angered Herod, who had him imprisoned, and then later beheaded (Matthew 14:1-12). You don’t get any more wide open throttle than that.

So in your Christian walk, what is the last risk you took? When were you last wide open throttle? When was the last time you were half throttle?