It’s about my heart…

 

And the Lord said by his servants the prophets, “Because Manasseh king of Judah has committed these abominations and has done things more evil than all that the Amorites did, who were before him, and has made Judah also to sin with his idols, therefore thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: Behold, I am bringing upon Jerusalem and Judah such disaster that the ears of everyone who hears of it will tingle. And I will stretch over Jerusalem the measuring line of Samaria, and the plumb line of the house of Ahab, and I will wipe Jerusalem as one wipes a dish, wiping it and turning it upside down. And I will forsake the remnant of my heritage and give them into the hand of their enemies, and they shall become a prey and a spoil to all their enemies, because they have done what is evil in my sight and have provoked me to anger, since the day their fathers came out of Egypt, even to this day.” Moreover, Manasseh shed very much innocent blood, till he had filled Jerusalem from one end to another, besides the sin that he made Judah to sin so that they did what was evil in the sight of the Lord. (2 Kings 21:10–16)

Since sin is defined in Isaiah as “turning our own way” then there are no sinless people. Since our human tendency is to describe sin as outwardly immoral actions, many do not think they are sinners. Last night I listened to a conversation about money and how to get more of it. Those speaking had no idea that their love of money was a sin, a form of idolatry. Getting rich was a priority over being holy.

Manasseh knew the obedience called for by the Lord, but his heart was not in it. His life is evidence that the heart eventually shows up in actions and those actions spilled out. Not only that, his sin affected the people he was supposed to govern. Instead of being and living as God's chosen ones, they followed their leader into sinful living.

Today we celebrate the risen Christ who died that our sins do not do what the sins of Manasseh did. However, if we define sin as Isaiah did, turning our own way means sin is much more than murder, stealing, lying, and so on. Jesus said so, illustrating this way:

“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart. (Matthew 5:27–28) 
The good person out of the good treasure of his heart produces good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure produces evil, for out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks. (Luke 6:45)

Bluntly, even an evil thought is sin. Therefore, no one can boast of purity and no wonder that the wise King Solomon wrote: 

Who can say, “I have made my heart pure; I am clean from my sin”? (Proverbs 20:9)
Who can say, Every way of a man is right in his own eyes, but the Lord weighs the heart. (Proverbs 21:2)
Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life. (Proverbs 4:23)

As a Christian, forgiveness, new life and the power of the Holy Spirit are part of having that new heart, but I still have that old nature. It is dead to God and very much challenged to remain that way. A young missionary said, “The problem with a living sacrifice is that it keeps crawling off the altar.” We may not sin like Manasseh did, but just turning my own way is sin, evident in my actions, and those actions affect others. 

Lord Jesus, I honor Your sacrificial death and the glory of Your resurrection by guarding my heart, replacing my way with Your thoughts, reading Your Word and thinking about what I read so it comes out in actions, knowing that those words and actions can affect those around me. Grant me faith and confidence as those doubts and fears so often attack. My life will not be perfect in this life, yet I don’t want to be like Manasseh.