Will I Write This Blog or Not?
So, I hate to admit it but I forgot all about writing this blog today until I was laying in bed preparing to go to sleep. And then it hit me.... it's Monday and on Monday's I write my blog. "Oh, but I'm already in bed. I can't get up to do this." I thought. But then I remembered that I have a few faithful readers who would notice if I didn't write and wondered if I could actually do it. What a funny (or maybe pathetic) situation..... here I was being double-minded about whether or not I would write a blog about double-mindedness. When I realized that, I jumped out of bed to my computer and here I am! Somehow acknowledging that I was double-minded helped me choose to be single-minded and therefore act. And so that's where I want to start this discussion - the need to become aware that we are double-minded.
James 4:6-10 is the passage that first helped me do this. I was drawn to this passage because of the promise that God gives grace to the humble (vs. 6). I wanted to receive this grace so I knew I had to learn to be humble. I asked the question: what must I do to be humble according to this passage? There is so much that could be said but I will only focus on the later part of verse 8:
"Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded."
As I meditated on this passage it became clear to me that repentance from sin was part of being humble. Repentance means being sorry for your sins (see verse 9) AND it means changing to good and godly thoughts and actions away from the opposite. Washing one's hands refers to the cleansing of the physical body and I interpret this to mean stop doing harmful and hurtful (sinful) things with your body. Purifying your heart is similar except that it has to do with the inner person. James calls us to become holy and whole instead of being impure and double-minded.
I think I am only starting to realize how destructive double-minded thinking can be. It can fool us into thinking we are on the right path (because part of us wants to love and serve God) but keep us from actually taking steps of faith on that path (because part of us wants to stay in charge of our lives). It can paralyze us because we can't make a decision. It can result in us being two-faced, lacking integrity, and becoming untrustworthy even though we have good intentions.
The call to "purify your hearts, you double-minded" awakens us to the reality of inconsistencies in our hearts - loves and desires that do not reflect God's way for us. It helps us see why we may have such challenges in situations, why we can't see the godly choice. It alerts us to the need to ask ourselves: "Am I double-minded here?" "Do I really only want God's will?" To be honest and then to come to God with what we find. And what a purifying fire burns in our souls as we admit, repent of, and then reject our double-mindedness. The result: a heart devoted to God.
James 4:6-10 is the passage that first helped me do this. I was drawn to this passage because of the promise that God gives grace to the humble (vs. 6). I wanted to receive this grace so I knew I had to learn to be humble. I asked the question: what must I do to be humble according to this passage? There is so much that could be said but I will only focus on the later part of verse 8:
"Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded."
As I meditated on this passage it became clear to me that repentance from sin was part of being humble. Repentance means being sorry for your sins (see verse 9) AND it means changing to good and godly thoughts and actions away from the opposite. Washing one's hands refers to the cleansing of the physical body and I interpret this to mean stop doing harmful and hurtful (sinful) things with your body. Purifying your heart is similar except that it has to do with the inner person. James calls us to become holy and whole instead of being impure and double-minded.
I think I am only starting to realize how destructive double-minded thinking can be. It can fool us into thinking we are on the right path (because part of us wants to love and serve God) but keep us from actually taking steps of faith on that path (because part of us wants to stay in charge of our lives). It can paralyze us because we can't make a decision. It can result in us being two-faced, lacking integrity, and becoming untrustworthy even though we have good intentions.
The call to "purify your hearts, you double-minded" awakens us to the reality of inconsistencies in our hearts - loves and desires that do not reflect God's way for us. It helps us see why we may have such challenges in situations, why we can't see the godly choice. It alerts us to the need to ask ourselves: "Am I double-minded here?" "Do I really only want God's will?" To be honest and then to come to God with what we find. And what a purifying fire burns in our souls as we admit, repent of, and then reject our double-mindedness. The result: a heart devoted to God.
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