Man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.
— 1 Samuel 16:7
This month, our nation marks “heart month” with a special emphasis on Americans being “heart healthy.” There is no denying that is good for us to remember that, while our physical hearts need to be healthy, we must get the exercise we need to keep it that way. But, at the same time, we must ask ourselves is my “spiritual heart” healthy?
God always has been concerned more with our hearts than our minds. It is the heart that is the prime motivator of words and actions “out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks” (Matthew 12:34). Therefore, it is of prime importance to have a spiritually healthy heart.
The Gospel of Mark (10:2-16) uses two great examples to shed light on the health of the human heart. One deals with spouses and the other with children. If you are not blessed with either, don’t stop reading: What is said about these relationships can be said of any relationship.
Hardened hearts destroy relationships. In the ups and downs of marriage, the condition of the heart is vital. Every marriage partner experiences hurts, betrayal, disappointments and suffering. They are better handled with a soft, humble, open heart. It is when hearts become closed, proud, hard and adamant that relationships fail. A thin shell of unforgiveness and anger not dealt with, thickens and becomes impenetrable. Sadly, we see way too much of this in our society and in our families today.
The second example is the heart attitude of the disciples toward the children who were being brought to Jesus to be blessed. The disciples were self-centered. Perhaps they had their own agenda of what was important. Perhaps they thought their job was to protect Jesus from distractions (like children) so he could attend to what they thought was “important business.” Their hardness and rightness of heart caused them to miss a vital part of Jesus’ plan as Jesus rebuked them and had the children come to Him and Jesus blessed them.
The effects of our heart’s health on our home life is also true for many other aspects of our daily living, such as work. Do you see the correlations?
There is only one way to manage the disease of sin hardened hearts. We need a constant supply of fresh, cleansing blood that flows from Jesus into our hearts.
So while exercising and taking care of your heart, don’t neglect your “spiritual heart.” It is vital that our hearts are healthy because as Christians, we are the living body of Jesus in the world … in this community. We need to reflect God’s loving, healthy heart that beats at the center of the life of His people.
So, give your heart a workout. Walk with God, and when you do, you’ll just how easy it is to connect people to Jesus.
The Rev. Dean R. Pfeffer is the senior pastor at Hope Lutheran Church, Plant City. For more, email him at hopepcpastor@gmail.com.