***Our writers have done it again! We're blessed with another abundance of Connect Devotionals this week, so please enjoy both pieces by the Emmets and Bella.***

Split Personality

Brian and Kathy Emmet

James 1:1-18

Please take a moment to read this week’s entire passage! (NIV)

Please take a moment to read this week’s entire passage! (MSG)

Ever feel like two different people?  Not the real and tragic psychiatric diagnosis of multiple personality disorder, but the very common human experience of “being of two minds” about a matter, of wanting irreconcilable goals (more cake + lose weight!), of occasionally telling your children, “Do what I say, not what I do!”, of feeling that your “life of faith” and life “in the real world” aren’t, uh, you know … what’s the word?

Yes: integrated.  It can often feel like our faith and our lives are not as well integrated as we would like.

So our new series -- Integrated: Faith and Life Together -- is going to dive right into this mess of multiple motivations, double-mindedness, and the variety of ways we live “split” lives.  The New Testament Book of James will be our go-to text. (The Bible Project has a great summary video of the book and we encourage everyone to watch it here.)

Integer – integrity – integrated: same Latin root, meaning “untouched,” that is “whole, complete, undivided.”  In mathematics, an integer is a positive whole number.  Integrity means that a person displays the same qualities of virtue and good character, regardless of circumstances or who may be watching.  An integrated person, or an integrated community, is whole, not fragmented; complete, not fractured; unified, not divided; at peace, not in turmoil and conflict.

Christians testify to our “split personalities” when we talk about “faith versus works,” “head versus heart,” “soul versus body,” “sacred versus secular,” “full-time ministry versus ordinary work,” “spiritual versus physical,” “prayer versus action,” even “heaven versus earth.”  We tend to divorce things that God sees as unified, as integrated.  We prefer either/or definitions to both/and ones.  Either/or seems neat and clear, a nice bright line separating (the opposite of integrating!) everything into its own pile.  The problem? The whole isn’t greater than the sum of its parts.  In fact, there are no wholes, just piles and piles of parts!

So right from the start, James goes after our unintegrated lives.  He doesn’t pull his punches, so prepare for some “Ouch!” moments during the weeks of this series!  But “ouch!” isn’t the goal: integrated lives are the goal.

What is the “still point” in our ever-turning, ever-churning world, the center around which everything is integrated?  It is the One James describes as “the Father of lights, who does not change like shifting shadows” (verse 18).  

A well-integrated life is not the result of a project we take on, but the fruit of a Person we get to know.  A Person we learn to follow and obey.  A Person who takes everything in us that is split, fragmented, disjointed, disconnected, inconsistent and detached, and integrates us into his life and Kingdom.

What’s a “split” in your life that you would like to see become better integrated, made more whole?  Why not begin by naming it?  Then, start to pray about it, and be on the alert for how God’s Word will speak to you as we work through James.

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Stop Playing the “Blame Game”

Bella Segnere

Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him. Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am being tempted by God,” for God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempts no one. But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death. (James 1:12-15 ESV)

Please take a moment to read this week’s entire passage! (ESV)

Have you ever heard of the “blame game?” No, it’s not an actual game, rather an action in which we blame someone else for causing something bad to happen. You could also call it “shifting the blame.” Although the concept of blaming things on people can be called different things, it is most certainly not called “taking responsibility.” Taking responsibility is the mature response to a situation and it frequently requires faith to do. We need to stop playing the blame game. 

James gives us a great amount of advice, including how/why we should avoid the blame game. We may think that the blame game is beneficial because it steers the trouble away from us. But in this trouble and trial, it is easy to be blinded by the fact that someone else may now have all of this extra trouble. And on top of that, others could wrongfully view them as less responsible or trustworthy persons.

In a similar way, James reminds us that we can’t blame everything that happens on God, especially trials and troubles. When we have faith, God has equipped us with everything we need to persevere through trials, even if it means taking responsibility for something embarrassing or “bad.”  He would never give us trials that we couldn’t handle without him. When we (in accordance with our faith) succeed in overcoming these trials, we are promised the crown of life (v. 12).

We face trials all the time in life, from miniscule, everyday things like leaving your morning coffee at home, to large and life-changing events. Next time you try to shift the blame for something bad onto someone else, how can you use your faith to take responsibility? How can your faith in Christ help you to stop playing the blame game?