Are you double minded?

The book of James is full of pratical truths that all believers must take heed and apply. It was written by James, the half brother of Jesus Christ; who, before the resurrection and together with his brothers and sisters, rejected the Lord’s authority and His claim as the Messiah. (Matthew 13:53-56)

Praise God that after the resurrection, James realized his sin of unbelief. He had a change of heart and repented of his sins that God completely transformed him and became a faithful and strong disciple of Jesus. He became the Pastor of the Church in Jerusalem.

In this epistle, James introduced himself as the “servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ.” He could have bragged about his kinship with the Savior, but he remained humble. He addressed his epistle to the 12 tribes of Israel, knowing that they could relate with him. Like James, they rejected Jesus. Perhaps, it was an attempt to redeem himself and to correct his opinion about the Messiah. It was his way of making a public profession of his strong and solid faith. 

In this text, he talks about being double minded. This, I am sure, James believed he was seriously guilty of. As half-siblings, they grew up together and he had seen how different and righteous Jesus was. He and his siblings must have despised him as a goody, self-righteous fanatic who was always being tolerated by Mary, their mother. Remember Joseph, who was also hated by his brethren? He was a type of Jesus Christ.

However, in James heart he was unsure, totally ambivalent. He found himself at the beginning of a crossroad, not sure of what path to take. He was completely torn between his desire to believe Jesus, his brother and abandon his Jewish faith or totally reject the Messiah. We all know that he made the wrong decision and that affected his life completely and miserably - just like how he described a double minded, “he was unstable in all his ways.” Notice that he also spoke about being “wavering, as a wave being tossed to and fro.” (James 1:6)

I surmise that this epistle is about James testimony. It was about his life before and after he gave his life to the Savior. He experienced what all of us went through in life and what we continue to experience even today. 

Lesson/Application:

Being a double minded affects our spiritual walk. Everyday we are always confronted with this thought and too often we succumb and give in for convenience sake. We experienced being torn as to whether to read the Bible or not. How about being double minded in prayer life? Going to Church? Giving the tithes and offering or not. We often see ourselves facing a crossroad when it comes to serve the Lord.

How often do we make ourselves miserable and a failure when we have an opportunity to share the gospel and we decide not to?

There is no reason for God’s people to be double minded if our faith is firm and secure in Christ. For we have seen God’s power in saving and transforming our lives. We have watched our prayers being answered. We witnessed the impossible become posible. How about seeing the exact fulfillment of the prophecies written in His Word. Based on all these, we all know Who and what to believe. The problem is we allow ourselves to follow the easy and wider road. 

Conclusion:

To be double minded is to ignore and disrespect God completely. We ignore His promise, His power, and His will and desires in our lives. 

God could have made us or turned us into robots - and just do whatever we are told without question. But God wants to see our faith works. He wants us to choose Him, not because He wants us to but because we love and appreciate Him. It is a matter of choosing God and His will. And the Bible declares, as God’s children, we can all do it with the faith of Jesus Christ. Praise God!