In Scripture God Almighty makes it abundantly clear that double-mindedness or split-allegiances place spiritual growth and development and ultimately salvation in peril. The apostle James addresses the theme of double-mindedness throughout his epistle and warns that prayers which vacillate between doubt and faith may end with nothing. He concludes that a double-minded man is unstable in all his ways. James later prescribes the antidote of maintaining a single fixed focus on God's will and purpose. He states that the heart becomes impure and contaminated when it tries to maintain two competing and warring allegiances. Jesus warns that no servant can serve two masters for either he will hate the one and love the other or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. He adds that one cannot serve God and mammon. The ground rule for this proscription against double-mindedness and the commandment for singleness of heart and purpose appears as the first commandment of all which Jesus labels the greatest. Its original declaration states that the LORD our God the LORD is one and requires love for the LORD with all the heart with all the soul and with all the strength. This singleness of purpose receives emphasis several times throughout the book of Deuteronomy. The common denominator in these scriptures revolves around the heart which refers figuratively to the very core of the thinking feeling reasoning and evaluating part of each human the very source of all affections. Wise Solomon instructs to safeguard and protect the heart as the chief priority because out of it spring the issues of life. He gives specific instructions to keep the heart pure and uncontaminated by directing the eyes to look straight ahead and the eyelids to look right before without turning to the right or the left and by removing the foot from evil. Not looking to the right or left conveys the notion of metaphorical spiritual blinders guiding away from harmful and destructive distractions and keeping the focus singular. Jesus echoes this principle in the Sermon on the Mount when He states that the lamp of the body is the eye and that if the eye is good literally single the whole body will be full of light. Jesus considers singleness of mind or having an undivided focus to be good clear healthy or sound. When the light of God's truth is taken in a faithful dedicated devoted manner the Savior promises that the whole body the totality of life will benefit from its multitudinous blessings.

Split or divided loyalty is no loyalty at all. One can be loyal to only one master at a time. One can be enslaved to career, car, home, spouse, children, medicine, hobbies, television, novels or many other things. In doing so, however, one pleases them or oneself, and fails to give pure devotion to God. One cannot have other gods and still worship God in spirit and in truth. This wavering commitment is incompatible with the fear of God and serving Him in sincerity and truth. God desires unswerving devotion to Him alone.

Divided loyalty leaves a person without clear direction, because no one can serve two masters and God will not share first place with mammon. In Matthew 6:22-24 Christ uses the Greek word haplous, meaning single, whole, or clear, for the "good" eye. If the eye and aim are single and devoted to the truth, the whole person benefits. A person who splits interest between God and possessions has no clear orientation. Since the eyes cannot focus on two things at once, no one can truthfully claim devotion to God while keeping one eye on investments, world events, hobbies, jobs, sports, or entertainment. Christians may have many responsibilities, such as family, work, and recreation, but none of them may pull against the main goal. Each must serve the Kingdom of God, so that even a job is done as if God were the boss. Matthew 12:25 says a divided house cannot stand. In the Parable of the Sower, the thorns of worldly cares and riches crowd out the word and leave a person unfruitful. James calls the double-minded man unstable in all his ways, a fence-sitter who cannot be trusted, and urges such people to purify their hearts. Hebrews 12 says to lay aside every weight and distraction and run the race with endurance. The remedy is to reorder priorities: "Seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness."