As Christians, we have been redeemed and made new, yet still reside in a broken body navigating a broken planet

As a licensed counselor, my role is to join with individuals to aid in tending to their presenting issues (relational distress, anxiety, depression, abuse, trauma). The ultimate goal is for them to recover themselves (2 Tim 2:26) from their current stuck-ness, finding freedom from bondage. The world we live in is fallen, unstable, and a place of disorder. Therefore, the world propagates this to its inhabitants: us. A fallen creation, created in God's image, designed to be in right relationship with him, but immersed in disorder. As Christians, we have been redeemed and made new, yet still reside in a broken body navigating a broken planet.

This conflict is observed throughout scripture, but recently I have been drawn to the book of James, an epistle designed to reprove Christians for their moral decay both in their beliefs and actions. In chapter four, the letter culminates in what is, to me, the crux of the Christian dilemma, the same matter that I am faced with in my counseling office every day.

It is the Double Mind (James 4:8).

A deep longing and desire raging against our hope for righteousness. A civil war for our flesh (Romans 7). This spectrum ranges from the daily distractions of the interweb epidemic and “smart living” to mental states of dissociation, completely detached from reality, ourselves, others, and a God who loves us. In this mortal fight we oppose ourselves (2Ti 2:25), generating an incongruence that wages in all of us, corrupting us emotionally, mentally, spiritually, and physically (Romans 6:23). Ultimately, this robs us of the clarity of God's call.

James 4 begins with a question. Where does all this conflict come from? It then gives the answer: all war originates in the heart (James 4:1). Continuing, the scripture describes how this warring leads to defeat due to our fleshly solutions and motives (4:2-3). To understand the depths of this issue, let’s look back to the previous chapter.

In chapter three, James gives us insight into how we can identify this incongruence within us. He describes the power of a small member: the tongue. He likens it to a ship's rudder, a tiny part of the ship which turns the vessel and directs it in the way it will go (James 3:4). Likewise, he compares the tongue to a small fire, even a spark, that can set a whole forest ablaze (3:5). This member can praise God and then curse men, whom God made in his image (3:9). In wonder, James compares this to how absurd it would be if a fig tree could bear olives, or if fresh water and salt water could come from the same spring (3:12). How could this be?

The ability to house these contradictions comes from consistent adherence to the world, carving neural pathways of lying against the truth (James 3:14), cultivating strife in our hearts (3:14), resulting in confusion (3:16). When we are friends with the world (4:4) we immediately turn to earthly order (3:15) and hope-filled yet evil-worked (James 3:16) mantras.

"To build(ed) is to be more. And to be more is essential.”

“To rest is to disengage, and to disengage is critical.”

These beliefs only perpetuate our disarray and defeat, building negative hate-filled perceptions which act as border walls to keep the perceived evil out. We kill and desire, yet cannot obtain (James 4:2). We cry out to God, but we ask amiss (4:3), being consumed by our false pretenses: that we are worthless, that others are dangerous, and that God doesn’t care. So we turn to the world (4:4), to illegitimate solutions to meet our legitimate needs. At this point it is an effortless push, like a mom maintaining the momentum of her kids’ merry-go-round (as she scrolls her Instagram feed).

But God gives more Grace (James 4:6). And it is in this Grace-woven haven provided by the One who gave it all that our striving is blotted out. Here in his presence we are refreshed (Acts 3:19). James 3:13 gives us insight into how we can overcome this tumultuous cycle. It says that when we are wise, endued with knowledge – that is to say, when we have understanding – our actions and the overflow of our life will be gentle and full of wisdom.

So how do we get here?