“Don’t store up treasures here on earth, where moths eat them
and rust destroys them, and where thieves break in and steal. Store your treasures in
heaven, where moths and rust cannot destroy, and thieves do not break in and
steal. Wherever
your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be.” Matthew
6:19-21
One of my challenges as a Christian is taking God’s word too
literally. I am not here saying that
what is written is not true nor that it should not be followed. What I am saying is that we must always be
careful not to take the words of God outside of their context and be prudent to
discern its intent. Here is an example. This past week, my pastor used this verse:
The human heart is the
most deceitful of all things, and desperately wicked. Who really knows how bad
it is? Jeremiah 17:9
NLT
Now in reading it, one might appear to believe that the
heart is a bad thing, and thus, we must be ‘head smart’ whenever we are following
God’s word. Now I am not questioning the
pastor’s use of this verse, and there is truth to being ‘head smart.’ However, we note that Samuel said to Saul
about David, “for the Lord has sought out a man after his own heart. The Lord
has already appointed him to be the leader of his people, because you have not
kept the Lord’s command.” (1 Samuel 13:14b)
So this ‘heart’ thing can be very complicated. Where does God want us? Are we following His word above our heart? I think of things my doctor would say about a
healthy diet. He talks about watching my
sugar level and lessening my cholesterol intake. These tips are as one spaghetti sauce label
would say ‘heart smart.’ In that same
vain, the answer to these questions lie in our intake of the right things toward
having greater wisdom of what God wants from us.
A heart that is filled with love for God will make godly
decisions. The verses in Jeremiah do not
necessarily say that the heart is bad. Instead,
it should be viewed as a warning. It is
to ensure that we are not blind to times where our heart is driven to do things
that are not what God wants. Think back
to when you were a child, and your parents gave you a punishment for
wrongdoing. At the time, you probably
felt emotions ranging from anger toward them to disappointment toward
yourself. Now ask yourself, “How did
your parents feel?” Do you think it
brought them joy to discipline you? Of
course not! Fast forwarding to today, we
realize that they did these things out of love.
Not that they wanted to see us sad or take things away. Their hearts were toward helping us grow to
see what was right and good. In that
same way, God’s word will challenge us where at times we will be sad and
disappointed when we do not follow His word.
That is a true measure of whether our hearts are in the right
place. David struggled in many ways. But he recognized when he was wrong, and his
heart broke for those things that God’s heart broke for. That’s why David was a man after God’s heart,
and likewise, it is what Jesus was getting at in today’s verses. If we treasure those things that God
treasures most, our hearts will follow His will. It does not mean we will be perfect. But like David, we will recognize our
failures, and turn to God both in repentance and for forgiveness.
A heart for God is a great thing! It guides us into following those things that
God would ask of us, and it keeps us on that narrow and righteous path that
Jesus spoke of (see Matthew 7:13-14).
There will be times where our hearts strings will be pulled. Sometimes it is God, but other times it is
our own wants. Our goal is not to ignore
those feelings. Instead, we must look to
God and His word for greater understanding, then apply it toward serving Him with
love and compassion for others. That’s what
He wants for us. Do you pause when your
heart strings are being pulled? How can
you ensure that you heart is filled with God’s intent? My prayer is that we focus on filling our
hearts through His word to ensure that we are indeed ‘Heart Smart.’ Amen.
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