In the movie The Last Samurai we find a scene in which Tom Cruise is fighting an expert samurai with a wood sword. He is getting beaten by the expert even though he had demonstrated progress. The son of the hero in the movies tells Tom Cruise: “You have too many minds.” He meant to say that Cruise was not focused. He was thinking about the opponent, the crowd, himself, etc., but that he was not focusing on the task at hand—to win.
The Bible says that a “double minded man is inconsistent in ALL his way” (James 1:8). In this passage James is specifically making reference to the person who prays with doubt. That is, they are not sure that their prayers will be answered. He is double minded.
We can have double-mindedness in many areas of our lives. A person, for example, may believe that he should attend church on Sunday, but they also enjoy sleeping until noon on Sundays, or they prefer to watch a movie, or just relax looking at the lake. Regardless of their purpose, as long as we prefer more than one thing at a time, we will have the tendency to choose the least beneficial.
The solution to double mindedness is singleness of purpose. To finish the previous example: In our house there is no debate whatsoever regarding Sunday morning. On Sunday morning we will go to church because that is what the Scott family does. It is the most beneficial and connects us with God.
Pastor Luis Scott
Ambassadors of Christ Fellowship
(03/02/09)
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