Jan 7 Are two Heads Better Than One?

January 7

Are Two Heads Better than One? 

Jas 1:8 A double minded man is unstable in all his ways. 

    People who begin well and end badly know nothing of this verse. It was their double minded way of thinking that led to their downfall. We should look carefully at this verse to be sure we do not end badly and become “…unstable in all our ways” 

What exactly is the meaning of being double minded? Our modern expression of being two faced comes close. Saying someone is two faced is not a compliment. We mean that they behave one way with us and a different way with others.

The common expression “Two heads are better than one” is not what double minded means at all. When two heads are working together to solve a problem it is usually better.  Double minded people just want to be completely involved in two or more differing life styles. They want to appease their conscience by doing good and want to satisfy their lusts in spite of their conscience. An old expression that is also close to the meaning is sometimes misunderstood “People want to have their cake and eat it too” does not mean people want to get some cake so they can eat it. It means they want to not eat the cake (so they will have it) but they also want to enjoy eating their cake (they would no longer have it)  Both cannot be true, they can have their cake or eat their cake but not both at the same time.

The double minded man may in fact be an unconverted man. The book, An Alarm to the Unconverted, by Joseph Alleine says “Men may have a form of Godliness without the power (2 tim 3:5) Men may pray long (Mt 23:14) and fast often (Lk 18:12) and hear gladly (Mk 6:20) and yet be strangers to conversion….There is no outward service but a hypocrite may do it, even to the giving of all his goods to feed the poor and his body to be burned (1 Cor 13:3)”

Dear reader have you accepted the saving grace of our LORD Jesus Christ (read his name as Jehovah Savior Messiah). If so you are not your own, you are bought with a price and any double mindedness in you is treason against Christ.  James 4:8 says “Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded.”  Here we learn sinners need to cleanse their hands (external contamination visible to all) and double minded people need to purify their hearts. (Internal contamination, not so obvious to others.)  Is not this two sides of the same coin- sinners / double minded people.

Psalms 12:2 people can be double hearted.  “They speak vanity every one with his neighbor: with flattering lips and with a double heart do they speak.”  The hypocrite is both double minded and double hearted.  Even worse they may have deceived themselves by redefining disobedience so they see themselves as obedient.  Saul was such a person. In 1 sam 15:3 he is told to destroy the Amalekites “Now go and smite Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have, and spare them not.”  But Saul did not destroy the best animals and Samuel confronts him, “Wherefore then didst thou not obey the voice of the LORD...?, Saul stands with the animals as evidence of his disobedience and replies “Yea, I have obeyed the voice of the LORD.”  Here Saul’s double minded way of thinking has deceived himself into believing bringing animals back to sacrifice them to the Lord is greater obedience than obeying what God had told him to do. Hypocrites are quick to justify themselves and slow to judge themselves.   

The Bible warns of deceiving yourselves. 1Co 3:18 ¶ Let no man deceive himself.  1Jo 1:8 ¶ If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.

We are also warned against being deceived by double minded people.  Eph 5:6 Let no man deceive you with vain words. 2Th 2:3 ¶ Let no man deceive you by any means:.

      There are so many things in this world that are clamoring for a place in our mind. How do we resist and stay single minded.  It starts with what we think about. Thoughts lead to desires, desires lead to actions, actions lead to habits, and habits are the building block of our character. 

     Php 4:8 tells us to think on things that are true, honest, just, pure, lovely, and of good report.  That is the best advice I can give you.  May God bless you as you think on these things.

     Php 2:5  Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: