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Satan’s capacity for deception is never-ending. He was the original double-minded “follower” and he now finds purpose in convincing us to take our eyes off God and place them on something we desire. The trick is successful when we start thinking we can both look at God and look away. From the garden until now, the enemy continues his never-ending drumbeat. He twists the Word of God until we think our poor choices are correct.
Camp Followers versus Soldiers
During the civil war, the army always had a group called “camp followers.” These folks were not in the army, they just followed the army. Some were family members of those serving, some were selling things to the soldiers for profit, and some were there to photograph and report on the carnage. Whatever their reason for being there, it was not to fight. When the battle was engaged, the camp followers were relegated to the sidelines.
If a believer is going to walk in freedom, the focus in life has to be on Jesus Christ. We cannot set up camp outside of the presence of God and experience permanent change. We must take our positions and fight the good fight of faith!
Double-Minded Soldiers Don’t Win
As Christians, it is our mission to fight a war and win, but many have been deceived into becoming camp followers. We can come to church every week, give money and time, and be the loudest person in the amen corner, but if our day-to-day life choices are all about our flesh and blood desires, we are double-minded camp followers. Christians are soldiers! We fight while weighing every choice against eternal consequences and its impact on the kingdom of God.
Apostle Paul instructed Timothy on this:
You therefore must endure hardship as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. 4 No one engaged in warfare entangles himself with the affairs of this life, that he may please him who enlisted him as a soldier. - 2 Timothy 2:3-4 NKJV
Notice the word “entangles!” it does not indicate we should opt out of life, but avoid choices that take us out of the fight. When the battle engages, the soldiers fight. The camp followers run for cover.
The Foolishness of Comparing Ourselves to Others
Our focus on whom we are following influences our life choices and, ultimately, our eternal choices. We often follow without thinking about anything but personal gain and desires. What influences our life are our choices of who and what we follow.
The goal is self-evaluation. To do this we need a standard of measure. As Christians, our standard should be the Bible. However, human nature almost reflexively defaults to comparing ourselves with others. The Apostle Paul warns us about this in Corinthians:
For we dare not class ourselves or compare ourselves with those who commend themselves. But they, measuring themselves by themselves, and comparing themselves among themselves, are not wise. 2 Corinthians 10:12 NKJV
A great deal of this “comparing” Paul speaks about is done subconsciously because of what has influenced our choices. To reveal what is happening, we need the leadership of the Holy Ghost. Often, what we say is for others but what we do is mostly for ourselves. To avoid being deceived by our own words, we need to compare our actions, not our words, to the Bible.
The Double-Minded Quiz
Let’s look at some questions to try and shine a light on who or what we are really following.
- Who do we spend our quality time with?
- What do we spend our money on?
- When conversant with others, what do we talk about the most?
- Where do we like to go when the choice is ours?
- Why, when our imagination begins to wander, does it go where it goes?
When we are saved, delivered, or healed, our spirit engages with a desire to worship and serve. At the same time, our natural man fights back with a hunger for worldly pleasures, an easy life, and an avoidance of pain and sacrifice. There is a battle between freedom and bondage! The Apostle Paul describes it this way:
But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members. Romans 7:23 NKJV
What determines the winner in this eternal tug of war? In the Old Testament Joshua made this declaration clear:
But if serving the LORD seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD.” Joshua 24:15 Once again, the key is whom we choose to follow.
How to Focus & Kick Double-Minded Ways
How does a person enter into the army of the Lord and not go AWOL? Is it possible to stop being double-minded and live the most amazing supernatural life as a believer? Yes, it is!
- Take a deep prayerful dive into who and what we follow and why.
- Evaluate how these choices affect our behavior, speech, and use of resources.
- Compare what we discover to the Word of God.
- Invite Holy Spirit to take control of the process and lead us to good following choices.
- Finally, do as it says on the shampoo bottle “rinse and repeat daily.” Keep allowing God to move in you and change every part to be more like Him!
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