Matching words and life with thoughts

In chatting with one of our sons, I shared the difficulty of selecting who to vote for in a coming civic election. If only I could know the heart of each candidate. 

This morning I’m thinking how important it is to know my own heart, to pay attention to what is important to me, and to make sure what I do and say comes from a pure heart. 

Jesus said much about the heart. Of His own, He described it: “Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” (Matthew 11:29) Of mine He says, “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” (Matthew 6:21) 

Speaking to many, a warning to those who reject Him He says:

You brood of vipers! How can you speak good, when you are evil? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. The good person out of his good treasure brings forth good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure brings forth evil. I tell you, on the day of judgment people will give account for every careless word they speak, for by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.” (Matthew 12:34–37)

When I think about anything, it is apt to show up in words. I know that everyone is not like that. Some say what they think is ‘proper’ or will be accepted or of interest to others, but it may not match what is on the inside. I’ve done this too. Who has not been asked how they look and been told, “Just fine” when the speaker is thinking otherwise?

Jesus says that in the final judgment, people will be judged by their words, yet He also says words come from the heart. That does not exonerate those who speak one thing and think another. Judgment isn’t about ‘correct’ speech but about integrity. If words do not match the heart, that is just as dangerous as those who curse and swear all the time. Jesus also said: “This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me." (Matthew 15:8)

He knows and I know too that “For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander. These are what defile a person…” (Matthew 15:19–20) He gets specific with: “I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart.” (Matthew 5:28)

On the positive side, the Word of God says to those wanting to be a person of integrity, there is peace of mind when our hearts focus on good things:

Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me—practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you. (Philippians 4:8–9)
The bottom line is even more desirable than that peace because Jesus also said: “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.” (Matthew 5:8)

PRAY: In that last line, I’m thinking this is not only about a future vision of You when I cross over to my eternal home. (See 1 John 3:1-3) It seems to hold out a reality that the purer my heart and mind, the more You are in the realm of my inner vision. I cannot see You in a literal sense, yet the sense of Your presence is stronger and more vivid when my heart is not cluttered up with the things of this life, and certainly not with sinful and ‘stinkin’ thinking. Fill me with thoughts of You and give me words that honor You!
 

Value systems get tested

 

 

We are finally able to take a vacation, out of semi-isolation and into a very large city, luxury accommodations and golf courses galore. The grocery store alone was a treasure trove and I’m sure shopping centers will offer more temptations.

In the Bible, TREASURE is both a noun and a verb. My focus today is on the verb; my treasure is what I highly value. This holiday will be a test, not only because of the abundance of stuff, but about the freedom to travel, see things, set a different schedule, and all sorts of other choices.

It seems good to start out with David. In 1 Chronicles 29:3 he says, ”Moreover, in addition to all that I have provided for the holy house, I have a treasure of my own of gold and silver, and because of my devotion to the house of my God I give it to the house of my God.” David’s material wealth belonged to God.

Later, he describes how God fills “wombs with treasure”, referring to children, yet so often the legacy left to them is “abundance” referring to stuff. David’s son understood true treasure means passing on matters of faith to our children who are an even greater treasure. He said in Proverbs 2:1–5 and 15:16:

“My son, if you receive my words and treasure up my commandments with you, making your ear attentive to wisdom and inclining your heart to understanding; yes, if you call out for insight and raise your voice for understanding, if you seek it like silver and search for it as for hidden treasures, then you will understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God” and “Better is a little with the fear of the Lord than great treasure and trouble with it.”

This same man, Solomon, also wrote in Ecclesiastes 2:8–11 how he “gathered for myself silver and gold and the treasure of kings and provinces” and all else that his heart desired, keeping nothing from his enjoyment, yet he “considered all that my hands had done and the toil I had expended in doing it, and behold, all was vanity and a striving after wind, and there was nothing to be gained under the sun.” Treasure is not stuff!

Isaiah also wrote, “The Lord is exalted, for he dwells on high; he will fill Zion with justice and righteousness, and he will be the stability of your times, abundance of salvation, wisdom, and knowledge; the fear of the Lord is Zion’s treasure.”

Even though the most common use of treasure in the NT is about material riches, God makes it plain that what we treasure says much about our heart: Matthew 6:21, “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” and Matthew 12:35, “The good person out of his good treasure brings forth good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure brings forth evil.”

Instead of setting my heart on money and stuff, God wants me to value the “kingdom of heaven” that He likens to treasure hidden in a field that is worth all else that I have. He also says, “Sell your possessions, and give to the needy. Provide yourselves with moneybags that do not grow old, with a treasure in the heavens that does not fail, where no thief approaches and no moth destroys.”

Treasure is not about stuff, but about Jesus. 2 Corinthians 4:5–7 puts it this way:

“For what we proclaim is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, with ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake. For God, who said, ‘Let light shine out of darkness,’ has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us.”

God also tells me not to “set my hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly provides us with everything to enjoy.” I’m to “do good, be rich in good works, be generous and ready to share” thus “storing up treasure for myself as a good foundation for the future, so that I may take hold of that which is truly life.”

GAZE INTO HIS GLORY. Because “In Christ are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge” and because Moses saw the abuse suffered for Christ as wealth greater “than the treasures of Egypt” and because nothing else is eternal, my focus is to be on Jesus — which is my prayer for these days of wandering through and gazing at many worldly treasures. I’ve no reason to put my heart on a treasure trove of stuff that will not glorify Jesus Christ or go with me into eternity.