Doing What’s Right in the Eyes of God

Often it seems as though few in our culture know right from wrong anymore.  I’m not speaking of knowing what is legal, but rather abiding by an absolute moral code, specifically the Bible.

When the United States was founded, the Bible was revered, church-going was normative, and nearly all of the people (including the vast majority of the founders) were Christian.  It is no wonder that many of our founding documents contain principles from the Scriptures.  Even those who would debate these facts would have to admit that the founding generation would be shocked at some of the behavior that is tolerated today.  To them, most of us would be rude, crude, and socially unacceptable.  We’re not totally devoid of our morals, but we are far from where we should be.  Without a moral code, a people will drift aimlessly as the Jews did in the book of Judges.

Judges 17:6 In those days there was no king in Israel, but every man did that which was right in his own eyes. Continue reading

The Problem of Double-Mindedness

A double minded man is unstable in all his ways.” (James 1:8)

“Double minded” is from the Greek word dipsuchos–a combination of di (meaning  “twice” or “double”) and psuche (meaning “soul” or “life”).  The basic idea is that a person is torn between competing choices or interests.  This word is only used two times in the New Testament, here and in James 4:8.  Continue reading