FRACTURED

Jas.1:7,8 A person who has doubts shouldn't expect to receive anything from the Lord. A person who has doubts is double minded and unstable in all of his ways

Word studies are interesting, especially when we often take things for granted. Words convey pictures and sometimes we paint the pictures too softly. Such is the case with Jas.1:8 where it talks about the "double minded man" which we often take as a hypocrite. Yet, there is more to this picture that James paints with this word.  The English rendition of this has multiple meanings whereas the original Greek is more precise. The word for "double minded" is "dispsuche (pronounced dis-soo-keh)" and literally translated is "dis-spirited" or "double spirited or double souled." James is describing a person possessed of two souls - one that says it follows God and the other following after something or someone else. They shouldn't expect anything from God because they do not love God with all of their heart. Their heart or soul is split, or to be more blunt - FRACTURED.  We use this term to describe the state of bones, while not broken all the way through they have a line or fracture that prevents the bone from being whole. As such, it cannot stand the rigors and use of a fully intact bone in the skeletal structure and as a result render a person lame. This is the way that James is describing the soul or spirit that is of two minds. Jesus stated it this way, "the eye is the lamp of the body. Therefore, if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light in you is darkness, how terrible that darkness will be! No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be loyal to the one and have contempt for the other. You cannot serve God and wealth. (Mt.6:22-24)"

The point of the above is that you cannot serve God with a fractured soul. Either God has to mend the soul by taking away the fracture to make the person whole, or the fracture makes us useless for God.  This said, if I am fractured, the only way to be made whole is, "They that are whole have no need of the physician, but they that are sick: I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance. (Mk.2:17)"  If I am whole, I dJimo not need mending so consider what Paul states in Gal.6:1 "Brothers and sisters, if a person gets trapped by wrongdoing, those of you who are spiritual should help that person turn away from doing wrong. Do it in a gentle way. At the same time watch yourself so that you also are not tempted."  Have you ever stopped to consider that those who are in need of Christ, those who trapped in wrongdoing, hypocrisy, etc. are FRACTURED souls? Broken and in need of mending?   This is an interesting thing because it also tells us not only their condition, but also how they may react. Just as in life, you have those that understand that something is broken, it hurts, so you get it repaired or fixed before it causes you even more problems.  Then, there are those who have fractures but never go to the physician to have it looked at because they are in denial. They don't need a doctor because "ain't nothin' wrong."  Then you have those that have fractures, that know that they have a fracture but believe they can tough it out and survive with a broken limb until they realize that it is too late. These do not realize that infection, deformity and further damage can be caused by leaving it untreated. 

When I see a person with a fracture or break, my own body reacts with a twinge of pain because I know how it feels. I was glad when someone took me to the doctor so that I could get treatment, mending, and be made whole again. Do you react with pain when you see a FRACTURED soul? Do we try to or offer help?  When you see yourself (Jas.1:25) is your own soul whole? Or do you find yourself fractured - saying you are serving God but in actuality giving yourself to something else?

Maybe it's time to look into the mirror? Maybe it is time to see the world for what it is. Fractured!

Jim