The smooth, shiny lizard known as a skink doesn’t ordinarily draw crowds at the zoo. But the little critter discovered by a homeowner in Jacksonville, Florida, created quite a stir because it had two heads, one at each end of its body. What an unusual spectacle! And what an illustration of absolute frustration! When it tried to run, its legs actually moved in opposite directions.

As I studied its picture in a newspaper, I thought, How incredible! Yet how typical of many believers in Christ! We all have an innate tendency to sin; but when we are born again by faith in the Lord Jesus, we receive a wonderful new nature. This often creates an intense struggle. We experience a continual conflict between the mind of Christ and our old ways of thinking.

If we do not submit ourselves completely to the Savior but try to serve self as well, we resemble the two-headed skink who attempts to go in opposite directions at the same time. Jesus said, “No one 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” (Matt. 6:24).

Let’s yield completely to Christ. It’s the only way to avoid the frustration of the double-minded skink.