The Alpha of Dealing with Double-mindedness

UV 3002 /10000 The Alpha of Dealing with Double-mindedness
A double minded man is unstable in all his ways
James 1 v 8

We can either believe and serve God or believe in and serve the world. The double –minded will not be rewarded either by God or the world. As Elijah posed a challenge to the people of Israel- “Serve God or Baal. As to who is God make up your minds.” Jesus again expressed the dilemma in these words, “ You can either serve God or mammon or materialism. You can respect one and despise the other.” We are to focus our minds on the Lord, the locus of life. If our entire focus is on Him and not diverted or distracted, our lives will be full of light, love and hope. We will be both stable and able in Christ. We surrender both our strengths and weaknesses to the Lord to use as He pleases. The double minded in contrast think that he can rely largely on his own strengths and when it fails he can turn to the Lord. The single-minded put their whole-hearted efforts in whatever they do for they do it as if it is for the Lord. The double –minded do things half –heartedly for they are not sure whether they will succeed or fail. The double-minded take credit when they succeed and blame God for deficiencies and failures. They do not persist and give up the chase mid-way.

A double minded person’s thoughts, emotions and decisions will be wavering like the waves, unstable at all times. He mixes the traditions, teachings and precepts of man with the teachings, truths and principles of the Lord. As such, he is like a man caught between two stools or a person straddling two boats or two horses. He is bound to fall between the two. He cannot persist in one direction. His efforts are scattered in many directions. His mind will be restless. His life will lack both purpose and power. The focussed mind will be like a laser and set ablaze a trail of impact, contribution and inspiration. He will be a lightning rod in the hands of the Lord to conduct His power and fulfil His purpose on earth. His emotions will not be like a yo-yo, fluctuating violently, moving up and down, throwing everything into disarray. Though circumstances may change for good or worse, He will be able to say with confidence and faith, “Though He slay me, yet shall I worship Him alone.” The double= minded separates different aspects and zones of time and space of his life into compartments, some of which belong to him and some to God. The double- minded are like a piece of bread that has been cooked on one side and is raw and inedible on the side.

The follower of Christ will look at the world through the lens of the word. His perception of life and the world is the same as the Lord’s. His perspective and priorities also align with the Lord’s. He is anchored on the Rock of Christ and therefore, stable in all his ways. He is not afraid of the unknown. He knows who He believes in. He knows what He believes. His thoughts, words, goals, desires, actions and reactions will be in alignment with his belief. He is not in awe of the high and mighty in this world for He knows One who is much higher and mightier by far. He is not afraid of death, disease or disaster as He knows One who has overcome all these and more. He is single-minded in his devotion, his dedication, discipline, determination. Like a horse whose eyelets keep it from being distracted or disturbed by what is happening to its right or left, he keeps moving forward on the path before him. He is not discouraged by failure or setbacks as he knows he can learn more from it and start all over again or try something new. He is a constant learner at the feet of the Lord. If there is something that the Lord wants him to stop, he exercises his will to end it. If it is something, he has to change, he will mend it by the grace of the Lord.