Go and Do

      One of my favorite social media games to pay attention to is changing the title of songs to make something else. One example is taken the famous song Let it Go from the movie frozen and making it into, "what if Bella didn't let it go?" or the play on REM's famous song Loosing My Religion to what if the band didn't loose their religion.  I feel like the changing of the song titles is a way that the artist or bands do not follow the advice of their own songs, not matter how great that advice might be.  I came to the conclusion that we are no different, how often do we ask for advice and not take it, or the advice we give to others, we really need apply to our lives.  Here is the troubling idea, how often do we do this with God.  We ask God to show us the way and then we take it under advisement and either follow it half heartedly or avoid it all together.  We tend to become enraged when people do this to us, so why do we do it to God? In essence, we are being double minded and the Bible has a few things to say about it.

   The book of James states that people who are double minded are unstable.  I think that being double minded does not mean we can not have doubts or question things, but it is our response to that advice from friends or what God is calling us to do.  Here is my question, if we ask for direction or advice, and not follow it, we are really just trying to justify our own actions and to make ourselves feel better.  Self justification is more about asking the question of how much can I get away with, with the least amount of consequences. Its taking the song from Bon Jovi "Its My Life" and making it ones personal anthem.  Being double minded means that we are taking control of our lives and that we run from thing to thing that makes us happy and feels good for the moment. 

  The other aspect of being double minded is that we devalue others and God.  One of the biggest ways we devalue God and others is that when we are given advice or direction from God, we take it under advisement, but we do nothing with it.  In all reality, we don't care what others thing unless they are petting our ego, or the advice is something we want to hear.  People and God become pawns in our lives that we use to get what we want.  This form of knowledge gaining has no interest into putting it into practice, because that would take work, risk and faith.  In essence we are being lazy because we want the knowledge without the experience.  Wisdom is knowing who to listen to and what to do, while putting it into practice.

   The other side of the coin is the issue of doubt.  One side of the coin is that we consider it a badge of honor when we doubt and to question everything.  This is good, but at some point we need faith and obedience.  The other side is the phrase that bugs the tar out of me and it is "you just got to have faith." It leaves no room for questioning, reason, and growth.  I also find this phrase to be disingenuous and it assumes that life should be full of roses.  If one is always full of faith and gun ho, there is something that is wrong, along with someone who is always in doubt and questioning.  God has given us a brain along with reason, we should and need to use it.  I think there are two big takeaways here.  God has promised us the Holy Spirit to comfort and to commune with.  Are we taking time to communicate with God.  It is not only speaking to God, but listening to Him also.  Whether it is through Scripture reading, prayer, journaling, worship, or a host of any other ways, communication is key.  The other is seeking out wise counsel. Having people in your life who know you and God well and loves the both of you is important.  God often speaks through and provides comfort to His people by other people.  The only way we can take the full advantage of this is if we are in full communion with God.

     To sum it up, where we get our advice and who we get it from is very important.  We also need use our God given intellect to figure things out.  But here is where the rubber meets the road. in order to not be considered double minded, are we putting what we know to practice.  There is an element of faith that is involved.  Sometimes it is putting one foot in front of the other.  Faith is trusting God and following His lead.  We should stop asking what to do from God and others when we have no intentions of following it.