Let’s Get Real Over being Double-Minded – Part 1

I Feel Like Such a Fraud

Have you ever considered yourself a fraud or a hypocrite? How about double-minded? I would hazard a guess I am not alone in this! It is so frustrating to believe strongly about an issue but then see yourself acting out the exact opposite.  Or to be in a position of authority, leading others out of the convictions you hold to, but knowing that you struggle to adhere to those guidelines.  Perhaps it is a war within yourself, a constant battle that you lose more often than not. I hate my double-minded nature.

Jekyll & Hyde

Do you know the story of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde? Wikipedia summarizes their relationship like this:

“Dr. Henry Jekyll feels he is battling between the good and evil within himself, thus leading to the struggle with his alter ego, Edward Hyde. He spends his life trying to repress evil urges that are not fitting for a man of his stature. He develops a serum in an attempt to mask this hidden evil. However, in doing so, Jekyll transforms into Hyde, a hideous creature without compassion or remorse. Jekyll has a friendly personality, but as Hyde, he becomes mysterious and violent.”

I have worried about this becoming true in my life.  As a young teenager, I was sensitive toward such duplicitous living.  I saw something in my dad that made me highly aware of what it was to be one person in public and another at home.  He was well-loved and respected in the church. He was a strong and influential leader in various circles in the community. But my experience of him at home was very different.  He was a workaholic, driven by money and appearance.  He was often short-tempered and his words lacked grace. As a result, it left me confused and upset.  I was afraid that I would be the same. I feared being double-minded.

The Book of James

In the New Testament of the Bible, James addresses our tendency toward being double-minded.  His teaching will become an outline for us over the next few posts. I hope that we will learn how to live differently.  Scripture is the source of truth we must land on, especially when we struggle to choose God’s way over our own.  The Greek word for double-minded is ‘dipsuchos’. ‘Dip’ meaning twice and ‘psuche’ the word for mind. This word describes someone divided in his interests or loyalties, who wavers and is uncertain, two-faced or half-hearted. James will expose our double-minded nature and lead us to another way.

James 1:5-8 says:

⁵ If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him.⁶ But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. ⁷ For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; ⁸ he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.

1. Doubt Like a Wave of the Sea

What is James saying? Is indecision or wonder wrong? Is uncertainty in prayer a sinful response when faced with a difficult situation? It is important to distinguish between authentic faith-related questioning and double-mindedness.  The former has belief and intimate desire for God, whereas the double-minded focusses with intention on two realities: God and self.

Let’s look at the analogy of the sea. James says, ‘the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind.’ Why would he choose this word picture?

• Waves are relentless and without rest.  The ocean is never still.  So it is with the duplicitous mind.  It is constantly churning and wrestling, seldom calm or at peace.
• Waves are unstable with varying currents, forms, and temperatures.  They can be unpredicable with little reliability. James is suggesting that the double-minded individual is the same.
• Waves are driven by the power of the wind. They cannot determine in their own wisdom how they will roll or dip.  They are at the mercy of whatever system or storm blows in.  Similarly, the one struggling with being double-minded is also at the mercy of whatever influence comes along.
• Waves are dangerous and capable of destruction.  As much as I enjoy watching mighty waves roll and crash, I am respectful of their power to crush me against the rocks in a heartbeat.  We have seen the devastation of a tsunami or hurricane.  The doubter, the one stuck in duplicity, is also capable of such destruction, breeding similar thinking in others and wreaking havoc in those with weak faith.

2. Hearing Without Doing

James 1:22-24:

²² But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.²³ For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror.²⁴ For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like.

In this section of chapter one, James calls for the need to be integrous in walking out faith.  It is double-minded to hear one thing and do another.  As I write those words, I feel conviction land on me like a heavy weight.  How often have I heard from God in the quiet of my living room, feeling profoundly affected by the message of the Spirit only to behave the opposite within minutes afterward? Ugh…I am so imperfect, so selfish and arrogant.  I desire desperately to hear the word of God and then act on it.  Part of the time I am successful but fail miserably on other occasions.  How about you?

A Matter of the Heart

If James were to show up at my doorstep, he might say to me what Elijah said to the Israelites on Mount Carmel.  “How long will you waver between two opinions? If the LORD is God, follow him, but if Baal is God, follow him.” (I Kings 18:21) It comes down to being double-minded and having a divided heart. Guilty as charged! I cannot deny that I serve God in moments and myself in others.  My heart wants what it wants, and at times I ignore the urging of the Spirit and choose my way.

David must have experienced the same conflicted reality when he wrote

Teach me your way, Lord, that I may rely on your faithfulness; give me an undivided heart, that I may fear your name. Psalm 86:11 (NIV)

Our selfish selves will always be drawn to duplicity.  It is part of our human nature.  But there is good news! As believers in Jesus, we are new creatures and have the Spirit within us to lead us to truth.  We are no longer victim to the urges of our flesh.  That doesn’t mean it is an easy or light journey, but we have access to the One who can lead us forward.  David reminds us we need to depend on the way of the Lord, relying on his faithfulness to see us through.  We can’t do it on our own.

What now?

• Identify the areas where you struggle with being double-minded. Talk to God about it and ask for His help in living differently.
• Do you pray according to your own will or God’s? How can you change this?
• Are your motives self-centered or God-centered? What would it take for you to release your desires to God?
• When you hear the word, how able are you to act on it? Find something practical that you can do today to step out in obedience. Don’t let yourself off the hook!
• Pray with honesty, surrendering your duplicity often.  As it says in Romans 12:1, we can be transformed by the renewing of our minds.  He delights to do this in us.
• Don’t be afraid to ask for help. Contact Gina to walk with you as you pursue an undivided heart.  Therapy may be a necessary step for you.  Wise and godly counsel is a gift.

Father God, you know how broken and sinful we are.  Our duplicity is not a surprise to you! Thank you for your grace and mercy that covers it.  Please forgive us again, Lord. Give us courage to walk differently.  Help us pray with your heart and mind. Help us desire the truth of your word and live according to it.  We need your Spirit to guide us every day.  Thank you we do not have to walk alone or figure it out on our own.  You are good to us, Lord.  We worship you.