God Looks
on the Heart. Do You? #2
By David L. Antion
We will explore what you do with your
heart and just how important the heart
is to God and in our human
relationships. Remember, 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 the same identical meaning.
The Greek word is “kardia” which means
heart but is a metaphor for mind, inner
man, etc.
Here are things
you can do with your heart. You
can
purpose
with your heart as when you decide how
much or whether to make a donation
(2Cor. 9:7). You can have
care
in your heart for others
(2Cor.8:16). And you can even
hold people
in your heart (Phil.
1:7). If you have love
in yourself for others, you would hold
them in your heart. You probably
have many memories of people near and
dear to you that you "hold in your
heart." I often think
of my wonderful grandparents who have
been dead for many years.
I still hold them in my heart. I
hold in my heart the memories of so many
Brethren whom I have served over the
years as pastor of churches.
I look forward to seeing many again when
we visit the Tulsa area.
You can
make plans in your heart
(Prov. 16:1). But what you think
in your heart
reveals what kind of person you
really are (Prov. 23:7). You can
hold a
haughty pride in your
heart which seeks to lift itself up
above others -- a thing which God
hates (Prov. 16:5). You can be
mistaken or
err in your
heart as did the
Israelites when, because they had no
faith, sought to put God to the proof
(Heb. 3:10).
Because
the heart is deceitful
even to its owners (Jer. 17:9), God has
to search the heart and test the reins
(which literally means kidneys --
another metaphor for mind -- Jer. 7:10).
There is no doubt that our minds are
fallible and even deceive us. That
is why we are admonished to trust God
with all our heart and not to lean
solely to our own understanding.
Have you ever had your mind play tricks
on you? It happens to people all
the time. We can even hallucinate
and hear and see things that are not
really there. The heart (mind) is
deceitful even to us!
Nevertheless, in making decisions we
must use our minds and whatever
understanding we have at that moment.
We should search God's Word and get wise
(not just any) council so we can make
informed and wise decisions.
Evil things can come our
of the heart of man (Mark 7:21).
Jesus enumerated them -- evil thoughts,
adulteries, fornications, murders,
thefts, covetousness, wickedness,
deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye,
blasphemy, pride, and foolishness
(v. 22).
Did you know that you
can deceive your own heart (James 1:26)?
Think of it. To deceive your own
mind, a part of you must know the truth
and deliberately keep the truth back
from the other part of your mind. You
can also train your heart in evil
(2Peter 2:14 NAS).
What we need is
a good heart that does not condemn us.
In other words we need a clear
conscience (1John 3:20-21). Why?
Because it is the heart which is
converted and which believes! “…if
you confess with your mouth Jesus as
Lord, and believe in your heart that God
raised Him from the dead, you will be
saved, for with the heart a person
believes, resulting in righteousness,
and with the mouth he confesses,
resulting in salvation”(Rom.10:9-10
NAS). When God converts us
and makes us new, where does He write
His laws? In our heart (Heb.
10:10)! Writing to the
Corinthians, Paul told them that they
themselves were his letter of
commendation written in their hearts by
the Spirit of God (2Cor. 3:3).
But there
are people who have no interest in the
heart of another. Writing to the
Corithians, in chapter 5 of the second
letter, Paul explained that he was not
again commending himself to them.
What he was doing was giving them
reasons to be proud of him so that they
might be able to answer "those who pride
themselves on a man's position and not
on his heart (2Cor.5:12). There
are people who simply do as Samuel began
to do -- i.e. look solely on the
external appearance. They
make all their judgments based on
appearance alone. Some people make
their judgments on the basis of titles.
Some on the basis of a position or claim
of authority. And others who
make decisions on outward appearances.
Some
people look on appearances. They
say, "This person looks good, like a
leader, I believe him or her." But
others who look on appearances make
another kind of mistake. They say,
"That person looks good, so they could
not be a leader or know truth."
What they want is someone who looks
"humble" and not so good. In both
cases people judge from outward
appearance and not on a person's heart.
Why? Because it takes more effort
and time to know a person's heart than
it does to make a quick decision on
outward appearance. We must look beyond
the surface to deeper things. In
the case of evaluating messages --
written or spoken -- we must compare
them to the Word of God and our good
common sense.
Good
relationships, as well as marriages,
depend on our ability to look on the
heart of a person who may offend us.
A personal example: I have been late in
sending a birthday card to my father on
several occasions over my adult life.
I either forgot it or just was too busy
to get to it in time. I have
called him and said, "Dad, I'm sorry you
won't get your card or gift in time for
your birthday." His reply
has always been, "That's OK. Don't
worry about it. I know you love me
and that's what counts." In
that statement he has looked on my heart
and not merely on my actions.
Some
years back I was visiting at my parents
house. My mother's brother
-- "Uncle Eddie"-- came over as he
usually did to visit with us. We
were sitting on the back porch talking
and I asked him, "How is Aunt Louise?"
I had completely forgotten that Aunt
Louise -- his first wife -- had died
some years back. My mother's face
looked horrified as did my dad's.
But Uncle Eddie said, "You forgot.
You just forgot that she died about 6
years ago." He said it in the
kindest of tones and with the warmest of
expressions to me. What he was
really saying to me was: "I know
your heart. You would never mean
to say something to hurt me."
Do you
know your spouse's heart? Do you
know that your loved one would never do
something deliberately and with malice
just to hurt you? To know
their heart -- that it is pure toward
you is one of the most important things
in maintaining good relationships.
Or do you look only on the surface and
react strongly to mistakes like
forgetting a birthday card, saying the
wrong words??
In our
relationship to God we need to remember
the words of Psalm 19:14: "Let the
words of my mouth, and the meditation of
my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O
LORD, my strength, and my redeemer."
-- David L. Antion
