November, 1934
T H E K I N G ' S B U S I N E S S
385
open to conviction. But it is not a mind always open, or it would become a mind minus its convictions. This latter kind o f mind would be as useful to us as a rancher’s chicken house would be without a door, for he would soon be minus his chickens. And in the same sense we would be minus convictions and would be as “ children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind o f doctrine.” There must come a time in our experience when we can say, “ I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day.” Single-mindedness: “ Servants, obey in all things your masters according to the flesh; not with eyeservice, as men- pleasers; but in singleness o f heart, fearing; God” (Col. 3 :22 ). This passage refers, by the use o f the word “ heart” instead o f “ mind,” not so much to our thinking processes as to our mental attitudes. This singleness means “ sim plicity o f purpose” or “ freedom from duplicity.” It does, not refer to a one-track mind by which one becomes a mental freak, laying himself open to grave consequences. It is a mind which is free from mental hypocrisy. There are mental hypocrites just as there are moral and religious hypocrites. A mental hypocrite is a man whose thinking is arranged under two sets o f thoughts or convictions. One set is just a pretense by which he thinks he fools God. He is saying “ yes” to God with the one set, and living his life by the other. God requires a mind free from duplicity. ■Double-mindedness: “ A double-minded man is un stable in all his ways” (Jas. 1 :8). A double-minded man is a spiritual monstrosity, for the Greek for “ double-minded” means “ two-souled.” His real soul has a shadow soul. He is a waverer. He is un stable. He is a spiritual weakling. He is like a weather vane— blown by prevailing winds. He is like driftwood upon the sea, floated here and there by prevailing currents. One day he subscribes to the Scriptures; the next day he agrees with some contrary philosophy. One day he be lieves G od ; the next day he doubts God. One day he is
affairs will reveal how widely this mental attitude prevails — with its stubborn tenacity, its unyielding selfishness, and its perversity. It surely does not belong to a Christian, whose mind should have a gentle susceptibility to the slightest influences o f the Holy Spirit. Anti-mindedness: “ I beseech Euodias, and beseech Syntyche, that they be o f the same mind in the Lord” (Phil. 4 :2 ). This plea is a warning against anti-mindedness. Anti- mindedness is a spiritual disease that carries over into too many Christian experiences. The anti-minded Christian is never in harmony or unity with his fellow Christian. He is never the advocate o f constructive policies, but is always on the “ anti” side among the “ anti” party. He is a wrecker and not a builder. His attitude is not merely a difference o f opinion, but the result o f a surly and carnal disposition that neither reasons nor loves in the true spirit o f Christ. Much o f the division that prevails among Christians re minds one o f the people o f a certain island who made “ a precarious living by washing each other’s clothes.” Like-mindedness: “ Fulfill ye my joy, that ye be like- minded, having the same love, being o f one accord, o f one mind” (Phil. 2 :2 ). This is a Christian in his right mind. He is a Christian who is “ likeminded.” Paul wrote similarly to the Corinthians who were in volved in schisms and factions: “ I beseech you, brethren, by the name o f our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among y o u ; but that ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment” (1 Cor. 1 :10). The common cause for the differences and divisions which prevailed in Corinth, and undoubtedly in Philippi, was carnality. “ For ye are yet carnal: for whereas there is among you envying, and strife, and divisions, are ye not carnal, and walk as men?” (1 Cor. 3 :3 ). It is when we “ walk as men” and not as new men in Christ that differences divide believers. This carnality breeds a party spirit, and the Christian cause becomes, under those circumstances, a warfare o f conflicting opin
full, o f faith and is strong; the next day he is full o f fear and is weak. One day he has a testimony; the next day his lips are sealed. Listen to the verdict: “ Let not that man think that he shall re ceive any thing o f the Lord” (Jas. 1 :7 ). Mule-mindedness: “ Be ye not as the horse, or as the mule, which have no under standing : whose mouth must be held in with bit and bridle, lest they come near unto thee” (Psa. 32 :9 ). An observation o f human Master minds in all ages have led the world in both reflective and expressive thought. The contribu tions of philosophers, poets, states men, artists, and scientists have en riched all generations. Yet to have "the mind of Christ"— which is the privilege of the humblest believer in the Son of So d— is a distinction more to be desired than to be numbered with the world's intel ligentsia. "The world passeth away, •. but he that doeth the will of Sod abideth for ever" (I John 2:17).
ions among those who should be soldiers o f a common cause against sin. This thing will not be, when we throw off the yoke o f carnality and walk, as we should, “ in the Spirit.” And to this end, there is set before us the ideal o f “ one mind” (Rom . 15:6 ). This “ one mind” is not your mind or my mind. In fact, it is not a human mind at all. It is what the next state o f mind reveals— Christ’s mind. Christ-mindedness: “ Let this mind be in you, which Socrates (left) and Justinian (right), representing, respectively, Philosophy and Statecraft, are two of the carved buttress figures which decorate the facade of the Los An geles Public Library. Bertram Gros- venor Goodhue, the architect, se lected Lee Lawrie, now considered the outstanding architectural sculp tor of the United States, to deco rate the exterior of his buildings. The pictures are used on these pages through the courtesy of the Library.
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