Mark 7 - What is the condition of your heart?

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Mark 7

​Calling the religious leaders hypocrites, Jesus quotes Isaiah, “This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me; in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.”

So, how’s the condition of your heart?

That’s a question I pose to myself often. For me, the academic and “doing” side of Christianity is easier than the heart side. I’m quick to jump into all sorts of activities, Bible studies, church services, programs, service opportunities, etc.…but, not so much with slowing down, being still, and taking quality time to silently listen and converse with God. Good ole relationship-building time.

This is hard to admit, but it is easier for me to say, “I love to study the Bible,” than it is to say, “I am deeply in love with Jesus.” It’s not that I don’t love Jesus, but the heady side is so much easier for me than the heart side. I don’t want it to be though. I don’t want to be doing religious things, but missing out on deepening the heart relationship…the pure, deep, abiding love of my Savior.

For my Type A self, doing comes easy. I can see completion and accomplishment. But being still; being quiet; just listening, expecting to hear and commune with God, is so very hard. Sadly, I can see how the religious leaders, likely with good intentions initially, go from God’s truth to their own truths as they continue to build new instructions and ways to better understand, apply, and obey.  If not recalibrated, over time, the thing about the thing becomes the thing; THE thing is no longer the thing.

Jesus teaches it isn’t what goes in that defiles us; it is the evil that comes out of a corrupt heart detached from God. My head knows the heart of the matter is the heart. My head knows the heart is where it is at. I just want my heart to catch up to my head, and often it is my self-inflicted busyness that prevents it from happening. I’m chasing the shadow and looking in a foggy mirror, while the real thing is right there waiting for me.

I’m so grateful God gives me these opportunities to stop and do some self-evaluation. I’m thankful He gives me examples of what it looks like when I neglect the heart side, just plugging away at doing my thing. Even our personalities are created by God. I’m thankful He knows this is something I need to work on and sends me these reminders to bring it back to the heart and my relationship with Him.
So, how’s the condition of your heart?

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