Two Operating Systems
“A double minded man is unstable in all his ways.”James 1:8 (KJV)
When we hear “double minded,” we picture someone who can’t make a decision. But James’s double-minded man might be the most decisive person you know. Driven, organized, steady at work. Just running a different operating system on Sunday than on Monday.
“A double minded man is unstable in all his ways.” The instability isn’t always on the surface. It is underneath, where faith runs one part of life and something else runs the rest.
James doesn’t leave us there. “Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded.” The cure for a divided heart isn’t trying harder. It is drawing near, and letting God make the heart one.
Ask yourself honestly: is there an area of my life where God has no say? That is where the second operating system is running.
Read it yourself
Read James 1:5–8 and James 4:7–10. What does James connect double-mindedness with in each passage?
Which part of your life runs on a different set of rules than your faith?
Lord, I don’t want a divided heart. Draw near to me as I draw near to you, and make me whole. Amen.