God wants our single-minded devotion …

To say people today have a lot on their minds is an understatement.

And that is often our problem.

It’s easy, and it’s common, for us to have so much on our minds that our devotion to God gets lumped in with our devotion to other desires, whether people or things.

And that’s the real problem.

Not only are we called to a single-minded devotion to God, our propensity to be double-minded is soundly challenged in scripture.

The renowned tenor, Luciano Pavarotti, shared with Guideposts about a time early in his life when he wrestled with a kind of double-mindedness …

When I was a boy, my father, a baker, introduced me to the wonders of song. He urged me to work very hard to develop my voice. Arrigo Pola, a professional tenor in my hometown of Modena, Italy, took me as a pupil. I also enrolled in a teachers college. On graduating, I asked my father, “Shall I be a teacher or a singer?”

“Luciano,” my father replied, “if you try to sit on two chairs, you will fall between them. For life, you must choose one chair.”

I chose one.

It took seven years of study and frustration before I made my first professional appearance. It took another seven to reach the Metropolitan Opera. And now I think whether it’s laying bricks, writing a book — whatever we choose — we should give ourselves to it. Commitment, that’s the key. Choose one chair.

Following God is less about choosing a “chair” as it is a single-minded commitment to His choice of us!

“All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ. Even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes” Ephesians 1:3-4.

Regardless of what our life includes, God wants our single greatest devotion to be to Him. Kind of like the story about when Martin Luther’s puppy happened to be at the table, he looked for a morsel from his master, and watched with open mouth and motionless eyes; Luther said, “Oh, if I could only pray the way this dog watches the meat! All his thoughts are concentrated …”

Whatever we’re doing, God wants our thoughts to be concentrated on Him …

“So whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God,” 1 Corinthians 10:31.

That is single-minded devotion! Double-mindedness is something that James writes strongly against …

“Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded,” James 4:8 (NASB).

“But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him. But he must ask in faith without any doubting, for the one who doubts is like the surf of the sea, driven and tossed by the wind. For that man ought not to expect that he will receive anything from the Lord, being a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways,” James 1:5-8 (NASB).

James exhorts us to repent of double-mindedness and calls the double-minded person “unstable.” Joshua and Elijah also called out those who were double-minded and challenged them to settle the issue …

“So fear the Lord and serve him wholeheartedly. Put away forever the idols your ancestors worshiped when they lived beyond the Euphrates River and in Egypt. Serve the Lord alone. But if you refuse to serve the Lord, then choose today whom you will serve. Would you prefer the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates? Or will it be the gods of the Amorites in whose land you now live? But as for me and my family, we will serve the Lord.” Joshua 24:14-15.

“So Ahab summoned all the people of Israel and the prophets to Mount Carmel. Then Elijah stood in front of them and said, ‘How much longer will you waver, hobbling between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow him! But if Baal is God, then follow him!’ But the people were completely silent,” 1 Kings 18:20-21.

Have you settled the issue of committing your life to God with a single-minded devotion? Or do you need to purify your heart of double-mindedness?

Scotty