Posts Tagged: Psalm 51:10
“THE HEART OF THE MATTER: THE MATTER OF THE HEART”
I was listening to an Andy Stanley Your Move video early this morning. He was talking about how good we are in selling ourselves on bad decisions. Stanley said that the problem is our hearts. He referred to Jeremiah 17:9, so I had a look at it. Here is my own rather wooden translation of the verse:
“Treacherous is the heart above all things,
And incurably sick;
Who can know it?”
Now, I know that it is fashionable these days to give and receive such advice as “Follow your heart!” Since we think of the heart as the source of feelings, we may simply mean “If it feels right, it probably is right.”
Sometimes, that may actually work, but as a principle, I have two huge problems with it. One is related to the meaning of the word lëb in Hebrew, and the other problem is with the underlying assumption that the human heart is reliable.
From the standpoint of the Hebrew word itself, the problem, at least as I see it, is this: The Hebrew word lëb rarely has anything to do with feelings. It has more to do with thinking. Our modern distinction between the heart and the head may make some sense to us, but it probably wouldn’t probably make any sense to Jeremiah or other ancient Hebrew.
So, if I am correct in this, what Jeremiah is actually saying is that our thinking process is treacherous and incurably sick.
Well, of course, my thinking is not treacherous and terminally ill. Yours, on the other hand, I do sometimes wonder about.
No, I wonder about my own as well. I can talk myself out of doing good things, and into doing bad things incredibly easily. My heart (a.k.a., my mind) has a great capacity to fool itself.
In on other words, the heart of the matter, no matter what the matter is, is the matter of the heart. And the problem is that the heart of the matter of the matter of the heart is that something is terribly the matter with the heart.
Christians call this “sin.” Sin is not simply, or even primarily, what we do. Sin undergirds all that we do, because everything what we do flows out of the flawed heart/mind. This is one of the reasons why merely changing our behavior rarely solves very many problems.
But the Bible also speaks of a God who can change our hearts. Both the Old Testament and New Testament speak of this change of heart. While we certainly need to cooperate in this change of heart (Proverbs 4:23; Romans 10:10), it is primarily something that God does in and for us (Ezekiel 11:19; 36:25-27; Romans 2:29; Psalm 51:10).
A heart/mind transplant is tricky, but God knows what God is doing. God can get to the heart of the matter, and can deal with what’s the matter with the heart.
DOWN TO EARTH BELIEVER
- DTEB, “Getting Christ and Ourselves Back in Focus” November 11, 2024“Col. 3:1 ¶ If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Col. 3:2 Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. Col. 3:3 For you have died, and your life is hidden […]
- “Search Me!” October 27, 2024“Psa. 139:23 Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! 24 And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting!” (Psalm 139:23-24, English Standard Version) I am participating in a Bible study, and this is a prayer […]
- “Christian Speech” October 26, 2024“Eph. 4:29 Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear.” Foulkes, in his excellent commentary on the Book of Ephesians, writes the following, which I quote at some length: “29. Now the […]
- “God is in the Details” October 11, 2024“The devil is in the details.” (A general saying, often quoted by lawyers, reporters, and negotiators.) “God is in the details.” (Me, almost certainly not original.) “Luke 12:7 Why, even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not; you are of more value than many sparrows.” (Jesus) God does not micromanage, but God […]
- “Grandma’s Pump” October 8, 2024When I was a little critter, I would stay at my grandma’s house for a night or two sometimes. I liked this for a lot for many reasons. One thing I liked about staying with her was that Grandma’s house was much more technologically advanced than ours was. For one thing, she had indoor water—sort […]
- “Wearing the #14 Wrong-Side-Out” October 5, 2024Pete Rose, #14, is dead. Many of the old guys with whom I play softball watched him play and appreciated him greatly. I do as well. He was one of the greatest players who ever played the game. Yes, he admitted (eventually) to betting on baseball. But many of us still regard him as one […]
- “Passing Along the Love (and a Link)” October 4, 2024Several years ago, a friend of mine put me onto a daily meditation by Richard Rohr and friends. I don’t read them all the time, but I probably should. They are good! I thought that today’s writing was especially good, and I also figured that this would be a good way to post something. I […]
- “Witnessing Versus Being Witnesses” September 19, 2024“Acts 1:1 In the first book, O Theophilus, I have dealt with all that Jesus began to do and teach, Acts 1:2 until the day when he was taken up, after he had given commands through the Holy Spirit to the apostles whom he had chosen. Acts 1:3 He presented himself alive to them after […]
- “A Bathroom Prayer for Hurting Hands” September 11, 2024A week ago Sunday, my hands were hurting so badly at church that I went to the bathroom to run hot water over my hands. Arthritis perhaps, or carpal tunnel, or general orneriness—I don’t know why my hands hurt, but they do. They have for years. So, while I was running hot water over my […]
- “Waiting and Seeking” September 10, 2024“Lam. 3:19 ¶ Remember my affliction and my wanderings, the wormwood and the gall! Lam. 3:20 My soul continually remembers it and is bowed down within me. Lam. 3:21 But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope: Lam. 3:22 ¶ The steadfast love of the LORD […]
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