No U-Turns

I was incredibly excited this morning to wake hearing my alarm clock go off. Rarely do I actually sleep late enough to hear it and I always feel like I’ve gotten away with sleeping in. It goes off at 4:50, so it’s still early, just later than I usually sleep. I thanked the Lord for giving me another day, watching over me in the night and all that extra sleep!

I sat down to write the blog and was dismayed to find my right shoulder joint fussing when I moved the mouse around. Being blessed to be able to use both hands easily, I switched the setting on my mouse to be left handed. I was saying, “Thank you, Jesus” for being able to do that and there it came, the holy tap, tap, tap. I spiritually ‘heard’ the word double-minded.  

While being double-handed is good, double-mindedness is not. In his New Testament letter, the apostle James twice uses the term double-minded (James:1:8; 4:8). Being double-minded is a problem that can damage Christians and can manifest itself in several areas of their lives.

The Greek word translated "double-minded" is dipsuchos, from dis, meaning "twice," and psuche, meaning "mind." James uses it to describe someone who is divided in his interests or loyalties, wavering, uncertain, two-faced, half-hearted. The first area of double-mindedness James addressed concerns how we pray (James:1:5-8). James describes one who is dubious and indecisive in prayer as "a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways."

Doubt and irresoluteness in our communication with God short-circuit our effectiveness in prayer. Before asking God for anything, we should first ask ourselves questions that directly bear on our prayers:

• Is what I am asking according to His will? The apostle John tells us why this is important: "Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us" (1 John:5:14).
• Are my attitude and life in tune with the will of God? John stresses the role of obedience: "And whatever we ask we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments and do those things that are pleasing in His sight" (1 John:3:22).
• Are my motives self-centered or God-centered? James says be careful what you pray for: "You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures" (James:4:3).

If we can answer yes to the first two questions and "God-centered" to the third question, then we should have no problem staying single-minded in prayer. God responds to us according to His mercy and righteousness, not ours.

As I was meditating on ‘double-minded’ for this post I realized it is manifested in our lives many ways. For instance, when reading scripture and/or sharing scripture with someone, you or they respond with, “yes, but…” the acknowledgement of what scripture says is thrown out the window and replaced with rationalization about why it does not apply to the immediate situation you are discussing. I know this is fact because I used to do it when rationalizing my life choices. I claimed to believe the Bible but insisted my circumstances were exempt when it suited me. My mother-in-love simply stated in one such conversation, if I believed the Bible, I must believe the entire Bible, not pick and choose the parts I liked. I was not spiritually mature enough at the time to know I was being double-minded and making U-Turns in my thinking. That was a defining moment in my spiritual life and, consequently, my entire life changed. Basically, she told me to get my ‘but’ out of the way… and I am forever grateful.

We must assimilate God's words and ideals; they must become a part of us; we must keep them in our minds and hearts. "Purify your hearts, you double-minded," counsels the writer of the epistle (James 4:8). We should pray without doubting, read God's Word with great care, fellowship without bias, have faith while consistently keeping God's law, and speak edifying words that inspire friends and brethren to honor God. With single-minded attention to God's will as shown in His Word, we can draw near to God and He will draw near to us.