James 4:7-8

"Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded."
James 4:7-8


Submission to God... that is a hard thing.   Most of the time in our modern world we are resistant to submitting to anything. It seems weak, or uncool.  You definitely won't move up in the company if you are submissive... and you probably won't last long in a relationship (both of these because the submission is only one-sided... which is a topic for a whole other day...).  So, why does the scripture tell us this, when it seems such a scary thing? :)  I think that it is because we have to learn that there is more to life than pure aggressive power-seeking. :)   Submission and vulnerability are opposite of that "great sin of pride." ... they teach us a lot.
I like also the reciprocal nature of the second verse... God tells us, if you put forth some effort, then you'll accomplish something. :)   The big thing here that I noticed though, is "purify your hearts, ye double minded." ... I think, at least for me, that is is easy to be double-minded.  Especially if we divide our minds into intellectual and emotional components. :)   As in, "this makes sense... but I love this..." that kind of a thing.  And God says in response, "purify your hearts." ... Our hearts need to be united.  The things that make sense need to agree with the things that we love.  Our double-mindedness isn't the result of some oppressive societal truism... it's not some thing that just "happens" to us because of the nature of the universe... it is because we need to figure ourselves out, and purify our hearts.  So... something to work on today. :)