“Out of The Heart….”
The heart is where our character and actions begin. This is why Solomon said, “keep your heart with all diligence, for out of it spring the issues of life” (Prov. 4:23). As it has been said, “Sow a thought, reap an act. Sow an act, reap a habit. Sow a habit, reap a character. Sow a character, reap a destiny.” Evil thoughts are the groundwork for all other sins.
Jesus taught this truth to His disciples: “The things that proceed out of the mouth come from the heart, and those defile the man. For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, slanders. These are the things which defile the man.” Defilement comes from the heart. “The heart” is the seat of the whole person: mind, imagination, affections, conscience, and will. “Heart” is often used as a synonym for “mind.” Therefore, our Lord was condemning the wickedness of impure thoughts.
We need to spend time thinking about our thoughts because the sinful thought comes before the sinful act. No one ever “falls” into adultery, or accidentally becomes materialistic, or trips into bitterness and anger. No, sinful desires precede sinful acts. Further, the sinful thought needs to be repented of every bit as much as the sinful act.
Thoughts are as sinful as actions. We sometimes downplay the sins we allow to linger in our minds. We think they’re not so bad as long as we don’t act on them. Yet, this was the problem of the religious people in Jesus’ day. Jesus constantly corrected the Pharisees who appeared righteous but were willing to tolerate the sins of the heart. They thought no one else could ever discover what was really inside them. But our Lord knew what was in their hearts. He said, “you too outwardly appear righteous to men, but inwardly you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.” They did right on the outside, but inside they fostered all kinds of evil thoughts.
The Pharisees’ teaching was so embedded, that it was commonly believed evil thoughts were not really sinful, as long as they didn’t become acts. That is precisely why our Lord targeted sins of the heart in His Sermon on the Mount, when He said that being angry with a brother, and lusting after a woman are sinful just like the acts that result from them.
What should take place in our minds and hearts? What should be the deepest secret of our souls? To worship God. That is why He says, “give in secret, pray in secret, fast in secret…for your Father who sees in secret will repay you.” To sin in the mind, therefore, is to desecrate the very sanctuary where our highest and best worship should be taking place.
Sins of our mind are soul-coloring sins, character-damaging sins. Because they work so directly against the conscience and will, dealing with them honestly and thoroughly is one of the most difficult aspects of overcoming our sin. If we ever want to see real progress in transformation we must deal decisively with the sins of the mind. If we allow our thoughts to be influenced by the values of the world, our conscience will surely be dulled. The Old Testament sage wrote, “Watch over your heart with all diligence, for from it flow the springs of life.”
|
