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Verse:Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded. —James 4:8
Some people lead a double life.
One is their public life —how they want to be viewed by others.
The other is their hidden life, which is kept secret. But why do people behave like this? James Harvey Robinson (1863–1936) suggested, “Speech gave man a unique power to lead a double life; he could say one thing and do another.” But double lives usually evolve from the human tendency to cover up sinful and immoral behaviors.
There have always been a variety of ways for people to maintain hidden parallel lives. But, on June 23, 2003, the website Second Life went live.
This and similar immersive internet-based websites allow people to escape from the real world into the virtual world, where they can start new and exciting “relationships” and pursue whatever fantasies they please.
In most cases, parallel relationships are kept secret from parents, spouses, and children. In his insightful book John Ploughman’s Talk, Charles H. Spurgeon included a chapter entitled “Men With Two Faces,” in which he warns, “You may trust some men as far as you can see them, but no further, for new company makes them new men. Like water, they boil or freeze according to the temperature.” And he adds, “It is not all who go to church or meeting that truly pray, nor those who sing loudest that praise God most, nor those who pull the longest faces who are the most in earnest.” I, of course, don’t know if you are leading a double life. Perhaps not.
But if you are allowing a cherished sin to corrupt your spiritual and moral integrity, then I invite you to surrender your private life to the Lord today.
Ask Him for strength to overcome your weakness.
You can do it privately. No one else needs to know about it.
The inspired counsel for us today is, “Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded” (James 4:8). God can bring consistency to your inconsistencies so that your private life is in full harmony with your public image.
The price you must pay for giving up your sin is nothing compared to the peace of mind that will be yours!