REALITY OF HEART CONDITIONS (1)

“Rather, let it be the HIDDEN PERSON of the HEART, with the incorruptible beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit…” – 1 Peter 3:4a

The Word of God provides ample insight into the REALITY of HEART CONDITIONS: “Do not let your adornment be merely outward- arranging the hair, wearing gold, or putting on fine apparel – rather, let it be the HIDDEN PERSON of the HEART, with the incorruptible beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is very precious in the sight of God” (1Pet.3: 3-4). Our real life is the life within us! There's nothing more important than our Inner Life – “the Hidden person of the HEART.” Life is not our circumstances, our outward adornment or apparel, the kind of house we live in, the kind of job we’re engaged in, or how much money we have. One can have the best of these things and still be miserable! On the other hand, it's amazing how fulfilled and peaceful we can be amidst the meanest circumstances, including the turmoil that's going on in the world today, if we keep our heart in the right condition.

At any given moment, every human being – including the Believer in Christ – has a spiritual heart condition! The heart matters! And, matters of the heart are always major matters in life! The condition of our heart depends on the things we allow into our heart, which form our thoughts and attitudes, and ultimately, shape the deepest part of our being. No matter what our outside circumstances are, if our heart – the inside – is right, all will be well. But if we harbour wrong things in our hearts and these continue unattended, they will become deeply rooted and harder to deal with. The quicker we can detect a wrong heart condition and get it straightened out, the better off we’re. Many times, Christians go through the motions and keep doing the “Christian thing,” whereas something strange might have crept into their hearts that’s hurting them and others. This calls for guarding, monitoring, or shielding our heart!

As Christians, we need to check our hearts often, and diligently guard them: “Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life” (Pro.4:23, NLT). Notice that it doesn't say somebody else will guard our heart. It doesn't say God will guard our heart, our neighbour will guard our heart, or our pastor will guard our heart. It says I need to guard my heart. You're in charge of guarding your own heart. This is essentially a “full-time job” because we don't know on any given day what's going to come up. We don't know what somebody may say to us that may hurt us, disappoint us or let us down. Then suddenly, there’s a wound that needs to be dealt with! That’s why we must constantly abide in the Word and be working with the Holy Spirit to keep our hearts right!

Our Lord Jesus Christ said some pretty powerful things about the “Darts of the Heart”! He said if one sees a woman and lusts after her, then one has already committed adultery as far as the heart is concerned (Mt.5:28). Lust has a tremendous effect on the heart, which is why it must be guarded against. The proof is in how lust is destroying the lives of people who are addicted to pornography that's so easily accessible today! Hatred is another fiery dart the devil tries to shoot into our hearts. James 4:2 says if one hates his brother, it's no different than if murdering him. We must “raise our shield” to keep our hearts defended, safe, and pure.

An effectual and practical strategy to protecting our heart and preventing heart damage is to learn to daily capture our thoughts for God early in the morning, through prayer and meditating on Scripture. We cannot risk waiting until the afternoon, when we've already let the enemy use the heart as a garbage dump, and then try to rescue the situation. Obviously, it would be better to start our dawn doing the right thing! The bottom line is: To a victorious Christian, we must guard and adorn our heart above anything else!