From the Epistle of James we find references to the double minded person. (1:8; 4:8) The double minded person, we learn, is unstable. He will not be consistent. The description includes persons vacillating in opinion or purpose. The term is formed from two words that, taken together, mean two-spirited. The meaning presumes the concept that God is single minded, whereas man is double minded – human/spiritual. Singularity is endemic with God, but difficult for man with God. God tells His children to learn single mindedness. The Scriptures accent the single mind in various words and analogies. Some persons use mind and heart as interchangeable terms, although not really synonyms. There is strong support for maintaining distinctions when it comes to spiritual understanding. Biological concerns that relate bodily activity to brain function are not always meaningful to the argument for God, and may become distraction in theological discussion. Double mindedness may be illustrated, for example, in the young person romantically attracted in heart to another, whereas the mind (in wisdom), if applied to the situation, might forbid marriage. Heart and mind must be brought in harmony to assure the future of lasting truth in love for persons.
Jeremiah added a prophetic note: that understanding of this factor will appear in the future. This is part of wisdom, a sign of maturity, and the guard against presumption. We wait for clarity, which means patience until understanding emerges. Man moves, sometimes easily, from carnality to spirituality and back again. The same fluctuation may be found in strength and weakness, in greater or lesser, and so the story goes – in opposites. A person is often neither hot nor cold, vacillating in the lukewarm zones, as the Apostle John identifies it for one of the Churches. This appears to be the least desirable of the options. God must be embarrassed (if God can be embarrassed) by the conflicting representations of His children. He does not, He cannot, take affronts lightly. To do so would deny Himself, so He provides means to forgive.
We do well to regard the heart as a personal house of the Lord, the inner Church of every believer. Every room is there. The bathroom is for cleansing, affecting internal and external life. Even Jesus made reference to the draught, the excrement. The heart bedroom is for rest in Christ, for recuperation from the involvements of being human, in need of daily renewal. The kitchen is the place for spiritual food and drink. The Christian has been promised food and drink so that he will not be hungry or thirsty again. The living room is for joy and fellowship, with the understanding that relationships are more important than other day-to-day matters. The study room is for communication from the library of the Scriptures, as well as discussion, prayer and other supporting factors going beyond nature’s resources. Even closets hold the armor of our lives for proper spiritual grooming in presentation to the world. The hallways of wisdom and prayer lead to all rooms. The doors permit entry and exit for self and others, leading through the mystery of life to immortality. When single minded, the person attends to housekeeping and burnishes the way to immortality. Heart/mind houses can pleasure God for residence. This may seem like a contrived analogy. Those who try it for truth find that it works. It is the overlay of our every-day natural lives to the miracle of spiritual life that is made like unto what we know and experience in the human sojourn. Everything is lifted. We feel assisted in the context. Once engaged the Christian feels that the spiritual life, faithfully lived has become natural. The supernatural context now seems to be the context of choice that must be lived. It is true. *Mark W. Lee, Sr. — 2016, 2020