When God was choosing a
king to replace Saul, He sent Samuel to
the house of Jesse to pick one of
Jesse’s sons. Samuel wanted to
choose the first born son but God told
him,
“…look not on his
countenance, or on the height of his
stature…for man looks on the outward
appearance, but the LORD looks on the
heart” (1Sam. 16:7). David
was a man after God's own heart
(1 Sam. 13:14). Jeremiah
pleaded with the people to circumcise
the
"foreskin of your
heart" (Jer. 4:4).
God
sometimes tests us to know fully what is
in our hearts. While God can
read our mind and our heart, there are
situations in which He Himself wants to
know just where we stand (2 Chron.
32:31).
The word
translated “heart” is the Hebrew word
“lebab (lay-bawb)” which means the inner
man, mind, will, understanding,
resolution and determination.
There is a second Hebrew word (“leb”)
which has identically the same meaning.
There are
many influences of the heart (mind).
Wine makes it glad and food strengthens
it (Psa. 104:15). We know that
when a person's blood sugar is low, food
revives energy and the mind works
better. Students who stay up all
night "cramming" for exams often eat
constantly during that time.
We are to
trust God with all our heart and not to
lean solely to our own understanding
(Prov. 3:5; 4:4). Here we are told
that the only One where we can put our
entire trust is GOD. We should
never lean solely to our own
understanding. Our perceptions are
often fallible as are our memories.
It would be the height of folly to lean
solely to our own understanding without
getting feedback from others and council
from others.
The Bible
describes the heart in many ways.
It talks of a
“deceived heart”, a
“foolish heart”,
“anguish of heart”,
“blindness of
heart” (Isa. 44:20; Rom. 1:21;
2Cor.2:4; Eph. 4:18). The mind can be
blind to new knowledge and information.
Our minds can be deceived and even
become foolish regardless of our IQ.
There is
even a mention of an
“evil heart of
unbelief” (Heb. 3:12). A
sin, like a crime, is punished based on
the “Mens Rae” or criminal mind.
In the books of the Law, mention is made
of a sin that was done in ignorance or
by accident as opposed to one that is
done “presumptuously” or by will.
We are
told that we are to have a pure heart
(Matt. 5:8; 1Tim. 1:5). A pure
heart is one in which there is no
criminal or sinful intent. A
person, by pulls of the flesh or other
temptations, may yield to them in a
sinful way. This is different from
a person who plans and determines evil
such as criminals do.
A heart
can be open or closed. Paul said
his heart was wide open to the
Corinthians (2Cor. 6:11).
Remember, the Bible is really talking
about the mind. To open one’s
heart is to open one’s mind regarding
another and to be able to receive new
and accurate information. But some
people close their "heart" even to those
they used to love. One offence and
there is no more chance with them --
you're simply out of their lives.
I have seen people abandon all contact
with their son or daughter because that
person did something "wrong" in their
sight. Where is the open heart?
Their heart (mind) is hardened in that
it will not take in new information and
like a computer is supposed to do --
update itself.
In Part 2
we will continue to explore what you do
with your heart and just how important
the heart is to God and in our human
relationships.
-- David L. Antion
