The Importance of Priorities
Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God. Matt. 5:8.
When guards led Sir Walter Raleigh to the execution block, his executioner asked him if his head lay right. Raleigh replied that "it matters little, my friend, how the head lies, providing the heart is right."
In like manner, when I go to my physician to have an operation on my leg, the first thing my doctor does is to check my heart. After all, if my heart is not right, there is no use getting my leg fixed. Without a functional heart, the best leg in the world will do me no good.
In the physical realm the heart is at the center of life. It is the pumping of that muscle that spreads life to the rest of the body.
It is the same in the spiritual realm. The biblical emphasis is on the importance of having our hearts right with God.
Jesus pronounces His blessing on those who are "pure in heart." Significantly, He does not commend those who are intellectual. He does not say, as some would, "Blessed are those who understand correct doctrine, for they shall see God." His focus is on the heart.
Now, don't get me wrong. Correct doctrine is important, but it is not at the center of the matter. You can have a correct doctrinal understanding and be meaner than the devil. A person can be "straight" on doctrine, yet be a curse to the church and a false representative of the Lord in daily life, in the family, and workplace.
In the Bible the heart stands for a person's whole inner state. The natural heart is self-centered and unclean (see Jer. 17:9), but Jesus calls for a transformed heart (Rom. 12:2; 2 Cor. 5:17). That is crucial to Christian living, for "out of the heart come evil thoughts--murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander" (Matt. 15:19, NIV).
As in the physical realm, the core of Christian existence is the heart. A heart right with both God and other people sets the stage for both a correct understanding of doctrine and a correct expression of one's faith in daily living. Without a healthy spiritual heart, I am spiritually dead, no matter how well I understand theology or how much of the Bible I have committed to memory.
It is the pure of heart who shall see God.
Lord, help me today to get my priorities right. Help me today to surrender my heart to You. Help me today to start seeing You better.
Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God. Matt. 5:8.
When guards led Sir Walter Raleigh to the execution block, his executioner asked him if his head lay right. Raleigh replied that "it matters little, my friend, how the head lies, providing the heart is right."
In like manner, when I go to my physician to have an operation on my leg, the first thing my doctor does is to check my heart. After all, if my heart is not right, there is no use getting my leg fixed. Without a functional heart, the best leg in the world will do me no good.
In the physical realm the heart is at the center of life. It is the pumping of that muscle that spreads life to the rest of the body.
It is the same in the spiritual realm. The biblical emphasis is on the importance of having our hearts right with God.
Jesus pronounces His blessing on those who are "pure in heart." Significantly, He does not commend those who are intellectual. He does not say, as some would, "Blessed are those who understand correct doctrine, for they shall see God." His focus is on the heart.
Now, don't get me wrong. Correct doctrine is important, but it is not at the center of the matter. You can have a correct doctrinal understanding and be meaner than the devil. A person can be "straight" on doctrine, yet be a curse to the church and a false representative of the Lord in daily life, in the family, and workplace.
In the Bible the heart stands for a person's whole inner state. The natural heart is self-centered and unclean (see Jer. 17:9), but Jesus calls for a transformed heart (Rom. 12:2; 2 Cor. 5:17). That is crucial to Christian living, for "out of the heart come evil thoughts--murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander" (Matt. 15:19, NIV).
As in the physical realm, the core of Christian existence is the heart. A heart right with both God and other people sets the stage for both a correct understanding of doctrine and a correct expression of one's faith in daily living. Without a healthy spiritual heart, I am spiritually dead, no matter how well I understand theology or how much of the Bible I have committed to memory.
It is the pure of heart who shall see God.
Lord, help me today to get my priorities right. Help me today to surrender my heart to You. Help me today to start seeing You better.
RSS Feed
