"Don’t be so indecisive, so wishy-washy!”
If you’ve heard that very often, chances are you have a problem making
up your mind. Maybe you have trouble
deciding what to order at a restaurant, or what color to paint the
bedroom. Some of us are quicker decision
makers than others, but speed isn’t always a virtue. However, when it comes to how we choose to
live our lives and to follow Jesus, as many of us say we do, there is little
comfort for vacillating to be found in the Scriptures.
One admonition that comes to mind is found in the Old Testament when Elijah the prophet was confronting the people of Israel who claimed to be God’s people, yet most were also worshiping Baal and other gods of the Canaanites. Just before his dramatic contest with the 450 prophets of Baal to see whether their gods or the true God of Israel would send down fire to burn their sacrifices, he challenged them with these words, “How long will you hesitate between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow Him; but if Baal, follow him” (I Kings 18:21 NASB)
As we’ve been saying in recent posts, the compact little epistle of James in the New Testament is packed with wisdom and godly counsel. One of James’ major themes is “double-mindedness,” which he does not define directly as indecisiveness, but gives multiple examples of how it looks in practical terms. The double-minded are those who seek to enjoy the pleasures of a worldly lifestyle while also trying to cling to the benefits of the Christian life. They are not trying to make a decision so much as they are living a double life, by a double standard, choosing one style or the other depending on the circumstances of the moment and whom they are with. Do you know anyone who lives that way?
James says such a person is “unstable in all his ways.” You never know what they will do or say. Before we decide to marginalize these characters as real kooks or hypocrites, however, we should take a close look at some of the ways this double life might manifest itself. Some of James’ examples of double-mindedness may seem uncomfortably familiar. Consider the very first case he mentions: a person who asks God for wisdom but then doubts that he will receive it. He says that “that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord” (James 1:5-8 ESV).
Another example James gives is that of the person who hears the Word of God and agrees with it. He may even compliment his pastor on a great message from the Word, but then goes away forgetting to put into practice what he has heard. He supposes that hearing the truth regularly somehow makes him a better person by spiritual osmosis when there has been neither a change of heart nor the will to apply it. James calls this being a “hearer of the Word and not a doer” (James 1:22-25 NASB).
How about this one…”do you not know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God?” Jesus taught it another way, “No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money” (Matthew 6:24 ESV). In the Old Testament, God often rebuked His people as being adulteresses because of their unfaithfulness to Him in choosing to serve other gods while still expecting to keep all of His benefits and protection. Are we any different when we daily enjoy basking in God’s wonderful provisions while choosing to entertain ourselves and seek material gain to spend on our own worldly desires?
Another example of double-mindedness is in the way we use our tongues. James says they are humanly untamable and chooses several metaphors to drive the message home, “Can a fig tree, my brothers, bear olives, or a grapevine produce figs?" This one deserves our attention if we find ourselves using or listening to impure language when we’re with certain people or alone. He elaborates in detail, “With it [the tongue] we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse people who are made in the likeness of God. From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers, these things ought not to be so. Does a spring pour forth from the same opening both fresh and salt water” (James 3:9-12)
A close study of the book of James reveals many more examples of double-mindedness. Collectively, these provide us a standard against which we can compare ourselves, and they illustrate the importance of being decisive about our commitment to the Christ and our walk with Him. Otherwise, we fail and fall into sin.
Whether any of the above examples have struck home with you, or not, it’s probably safe to say that each of us struggles from time to time with some form of double-mindedness. Even the apostle Paul talks about his own internal battles with “the flesh” in Romans 7. Thus, it is difficult to read through the book of James without feeling the penetration of the two-edged sword of God’s Word.
The bottom line message of James might be summed up simply: Be single minded! I can almost hear him exhorting his readers, “Make up your mind! You say you believe… Live that way!”
One admonition that comes to mind is found in the Old Testament when Elijah the prophet was confronting the people of Israel who claimed to be God’s people, yet most were also worshiping Baal and other gods of the Canaanites. Just before his dramatic contest with the 450 prophets of Baal to see whether their gods or the true God of Israel would send down fire to burn their sacrifices, he challenged them with these words, “How long will you hesitate between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow Him; but if Baal, follow him” (I Kings 18:21 NASB)
As we’ve been saying in recent posts, the compact little epistle of James in the New Testament is packed with wisdom and godly counsel. One of James’ major themes is “double-mindedness,” which he does not define directly as indecisiveness, but gives multiple examples of how it looks in practical terms. The double-minded are those who seek to enjoy the pleasures of a worldly lifestyle while also trying to cling to the benefits of the Christian life. They are not trying to make a decision so much as they are living a double life, by a double standard, choosing one style or the other depending on the circumstances of the moment and whom they are with. Do you know anyone who lives that way?
James says such a person is “unstable in all his ways.” You never know what they will do or say. Before we decide to marginalize these characters as real kooks or hypocrites, however, we should take a close look at some of the ways this double life might manifest itself. Some of James’ examples of double-mindedness may seem uncomfortably familiar. Consider the very first case he mentions: a person who asks God for wisdom but then doubts that he will receive it. He says that “that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord” (James 1:5-8 ESV).
Another example James gives is that of the person who hears the Word of God and agrees with it. He may even compliment his pastor on a great message from the Word, but then goes away forgetting to put into practice what he has heard. He supposes that hearing the truth regularly somehow makes him a better person by spiritual osmosis when there has been neither a change of heart nor the will to apply it. James calls this being a “hearer of the Word and not a doer” (James 1:22-25 NASB).
How about this one…”do you not know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God?” Jesus taught it another way, “No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money” (Matthew 6:24 ESV). In the Old Testament, God often rebuked His people as being adulteresses because of their unfaithfulness to Him in choosing to serve other gods while still expecting to keep all of His benefits and protection. Are we any different when we daily enjoy basking in God’s wonderful provisions while choosing to entertain ourselves and seek material gain to spend on our own worldly desires?
Another example of double-mindedness is in the way we use our tongues. James says they are humanly untamable and chooses several metaphors to drive the message home, “Can a fig tree, my brothers, bear olives, or a grapevine produce figs?" This one deserves our attention if we find ourselves using or listening to impure language when we’re with certain people or alone. He elaborates in detail, “With it [the tongue] we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse people who are made in the likeness of God. From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers, these things ought not to be so. Does a spring pour forth from the same opening both fresh and salt water” (James 3:9-12)
A close study of the book of James reveals many more examples of double-mindedness. Collectively, these provide us a standard against which we can compare ourselves, and they illustrate the importance of being decisive about our commitment to the Christ and our walk with Him. Otherwise, we fail and fall into sin.
Whether any of the above examples have struck home with you, or not, it’s probably safe to say that each of us struggles from time to time with some form of double-mindedness. Even the apostle Paul talks about his own internal battles with “the flesh” in Romans 7. Thus, it is difficult to read through the book of James without feeling the penetration of the two-edged sword of God’s Word.
The bottom line message of James might be summed up simply: Be single minded! I can almost hear him exhorting his readers, “Make up your mind! You say you believe… Live that way!”
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