“A double minded person is
unstable in all of his ways.” – James 1:8
As I watched a movie, a teenage boy walked with his feet straddling the width of the railroad tracks with one foot on each of the metal rails. He almost lost his balance more than once. He could have walked on the ties between the rails and had an easier time of it. His stuttering gait appeared uncomfortable. His progress was slow and his whole body jarred with each strained step. He looked very uncomfortable; yet, he would not abandon his chosen way of walking.
Watching his struggle, I
realized that we too try to walk in two parallel worlds that never intersect.
We attempt to place one foot in the secular world and the other in God’s. We
struggle to keep our balance in this precarious, awkward toddle and often we lose
our footing and fall. The Bible describes three types of minds: the naturally-minded, the
single-minded and the double-minded. We all exhibit one or more of these during
our lifetime with the Lord.
The
natural mind is totally focused on life’s issues. We attempt to control our
environment in order to maintain a certain level of safety and equilibrium. We
fail miserably most of the time, but we continue in this futile attempt
nonetheless. The cure for the natural mind is salvation. Once we come to
Christ, we have a whole new vocabulary, mindset and method of behavior. We walk
with singleness of purpose and seek the Lord with our whole heart.
Single-minded people have a life centered on God. We consult God for every
decision and action we take. We give all the glory and honor to God when we
succeed.
A
double-minded person is divided in his/her interests and devotion. We exhibit
indecisiveness, hesitancy, hypocrisy and indifference in their mindset, actions
and devotion toward God. According to scholars, another description for this
way of life is “twice-souled”. Our mind, will and emotions are divided. We pay
lip service to God, but walk contrary to His ways. We give God one hour a week
on Sunday morning and feel like we are living a righteous life.
As a double minded person we
soon find instability creeping into every area of our life. We cannot serve two
masters at the same time (Matthew
6:24). The resulting pressure and
confusion keep us in stress, unhappiness and discontentment. Our thoughts control our
passions, which influence our choices. Then our lives become the product of our
choices
If
we allow Satan, the world or the flesh to control our thoughts, then our
passion and our loyalty to God will vacillate, because the devotion of our
heart is divided. The satanic battle for our soul is waged in the mind. He
tries every trick in his book to discourage us from following hard after the
Lord (Psalm 63:8). When we follow our carnal thoughts
and feelings instead of the Spirit direction, then we stray from the straight
and narrow path. Everyone who is drawn
away by his/her own passionate desires is enticed and then captured by sin (James
1:14-15).
Most
human beings also tend to develop doubts when God does not respond to our
prayers as we imagine that He will. Uncertainty and indecision creep into our
communication with God, which affect our relationship with Him. This leads to
confusion and we allow our thoughts to control our emotions and eventually our
emotions drive our actions. When we say
different things to different people about the same thing, we live in constant
confusion. Sin separates us from God (Romans 3:23) by digging a deep chasm between our Savior and us.
2
Corinthians 10: 5-6 tells us how to remedy this situation. If we take our
wayward thoughts captive, we can prevent doubts and inconsistencies from taking
over our soul. If we keep His commandments and do those things that are
pleasing in His sight, whatever we ask according to His will, we shall receive
from Him (1 John 3:22). When
we finally choose to seek God’s business first, He adds everything to our life
that we will ever need (Matthew 6:33).
This singular focus brings a deep peace and a lasting joy that insures us a
steady and even walk throughout life.
Prayer:
Lord Jesus, allow Your
Spirit and life to flow through my soul. Inspire and direct my thoughts,
emotions and choices. Keep my heart from double-mindedness, which blocks the
flow of Your Spirit and encourages me to seek first my own desires rather than
Your Kingdom. Draw me close to You and make me spiritually hungry and thirsty,
so that I follow hard after You throughout all the days of my life.
Thought for the Day:
Don’t talk out of both sides
of your mouth at the same time…you might trip over your own words. 