Posts Tagged: Romans 10:10
“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
- “Even a Sliver of Light” April 9, 2024“For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.” (2 Corinthians 5:6, English Standard Version) I missed the total eclipse yesterday. There were a number of good reasons for this, but […]
- “The Process in Miracles and the Miracle of Process” March 11, 2024“2 Kings 5:1 Naaman, commander of the army of the king of Syria, was a great man with his master and in high favor, because by him the LORD had given victory to Syria. He was a mighty man of valor, but he was a leper. 2 Now the Syrians on one of their raids […]
- “The Power of Encouragement—Even for Old People” March 10, 2024“But encourage each other every day while it is ‘today.’ Help each other so none of you will become hardened because sin has tricked you.” (Hebrews 3:13, New Century Version) Yesterday, I was walking at a nearby park. There was a large group of young people some of whom were running while other young people […]
- “Endurance” March 10, 2024“For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God you may receive what is promised.” (Hebrews 10:36, English Standard Version) “Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us […]
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- “Delighting in Being Told What to Do?!?” February 23, 2024“Psa. 112:1 Praise the LORD! Blessed is the man who fears the LORD, who greatly delights in his commandments! 2 His offspring will be mighty in the land; the generation of the upright will be blessed. 3 Wealth and riches are in his house, and his righteousness endures […]
- “Character is the Real Lesson” January 19, 2024I am often confused about what lesson I’m really supposed to be learning. For example, this morning I was trying to knock out several Spanish lessons. My intentions were a lot better than my internet connection. I’ve done three lessons. Or rather, I’ve done two lessons. One of them I did twice because the internet […]
- “The Year of Becoming Un-Planked” January 1, 2024Each year, I try to come up with one word or a short phrase for what I intend to work on in the upcoming year. 2024 is “The Year of Becoming Un-Planked”. What?!! What does that even mean? So glad that you asked! Jesus said to his disciples, “Why do you look at the speck […]
- “Searching for the Noble One” December 26, 2023My wife and I were reading Luke, chapter 2 on Christmas Day. Luke 2 talks about the shepherds being told to look for this very special child—in fact, this King—in a stable. I prefer the word “barn”. I grew up on a farm. I know what a barn is. A stable is entirely too biblical […]
- “That Don’t Impress God Much” December 14, 2023DTEB, “That Don’t Impress God Much” “That Don’t Impress Me Much” (Song by Robert John Lange and Shania Twain) Micah 6:8 (MSG) “But he’s already made it plain how to live, what to do, what God is looking for in men and women. It’s quite simple: Do what is fair and just to your neighbor, be […]
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