[he is] a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.
James has been speaking about asking God in faith. Here he names the man who does not: a man with two minds inside him. The damage is not limited to his prayers. It touches everything he does.
A soul divided in two
The phrase describes a person split down the middle. His words and his real feelings do not match. One writer traces that split to its root:
How could it be otherwise in him who in his weakness does not lean on the Lord? Whatever he is given, the man who does not trust Him receives nothing real from the Lord. He speaks one way, but he feels and acts another way, because he has a double soul. Instability marks his whole path.
Why such prayer receives nothing
James is not warning the honest soul who is still working out God's will. He is describing a will that fights against God's will:
The apostle is very direct here: "That person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord." But what is he speaking about? He does not mean the struggle an honest soul may have while working out what the Lord's way is. He means the instability that comes from a double mind. It is the fight of our own will against God's will. It is the wish to have Him act as we think, instead of wanting to act as He thinks. Clearly, that is not the way to get wisdom.
That explains a common frustration. Prayers can be repeated for years and stay unanswered because the heart behind them was never whole:
Why is it that our prayers are not answered? James gives us two reasons. One is double-mindedness — that is, the mind half on one thing and half on another. If my mind is half on the world and half on Christ, I may pray every day of my life and get no answer to my prayers. Oh, when I seek the Lord, let it be as it is beautifully put in the book of Chronicles: "They sought Him with all their heart and with all their desire." That kind of prayer will be answered.
Unstable in all his ways
A divided aim drains the energy out of a life. The result shows in behaviour that will not hold steady:
Mark this: it is where there is one single object that there is practical energy and power. "A double-minded man is unstable in all his ways." In some things, he acts like a Christian; in others, he does not. If he has two or three objects, he is unstable, but if he has one object he walks with energy.
Trying to hold Christ and the world
Trying to hold both never ends in an even split. One side wins:
"A double-minded man is unstable in all his ways." A man tries to keep one eye on the world and the other on Christ. He ends up with no eye for Christ and both eyes for the world. It must be so: Christ must be all or nothing... The Holy Spirit is jealous for the glory of Christ. He can never give comfort, consolation, or strength to a heart divided between Him and the world.
Others notice too. This kind of Christian earns nobody's respect:
There are a good many people who profess to be Christians. But they have too much of Christ to enjoy the world. And they have too much of the world to enjoy Christ, or to do any real service for Him in the world. They are the people whom nobody respects. They are the people without a backbone.
What settles a wavering heart
The cure is not more effort at balance but a heart made one. It is something to ask God for:
The psalmist longs for the Lord to teach him His way, with a firm purpose of heart to walk in the truth. So he asks God, "Unite my heart to fear Your name." That is the opposite of a divided heart — one part for the Lord and another for self. A divided heart is double-mindedness, and James 1:8 tells us, "a double-minded man is unstable in all his ways."
A settled heart also brings peace. The wavering man never finds it:
A wavering man is never peaceful. He is always tossed to and fro. He tries to please everybody, and in the end pleases nobody. The decided man, on the contrary, is he who feels he has "to please but One." This gives unity and fixedness to the life and character.
Summary
- Two souls. The double-minded man speaks one way while he feels and acts another, because he does not lean on the Lord.
- Two wills. Prayer fails not when a soul honestly seeks God's way, but when our own will wrestles with His.
- Two eyes. The man who keeps one eye on the world and one on Christ ends up with both eyes on the world.
- Two objects. One aim gives energy. Two or three give a life that acts like a Christian in some things and not in others.
- One heart. The cure is to ask, "Unite my heart" — and the settled heart gains the peace the wavering man never finds.