Worth Reflecting On.

Proverbs 27

“As a face is reflected in water, so the heart reflects the real person.” – Proverbs 27:19 NLT

What's the state of your heart today? Not the organ that pumps blood through your body, but your inner man. The word "heart" is the Hebrew word leb, and it refers to man's mind, will, heart, and understanding. It has to do with that inner part of us that drives us, motivates us and determines who we are and what we do. The heart is the seat of our emotions, the center of our decision-making, and the determiner of our actions. That's why this proverb compares looking into our heart to see who we are really like to looking at our reflection in a calm body of water. It is when we take a long, honest look at out heart – and closely examine our will, choices, loves, decisions, and attitudes, that we will gain a true picture of who we really are. But too often we ignore the condition of the heart, in ourselves and in others. Instead, we judge one another based on externals. We judge based on what we see on the surface. But that can be deceptive and dangerous. We have the capacity to manufacture outward behavior that is designed to influence what others think of us. We can come across as self-confident, happy, successful, with all our proverbial ducks in a row. We can fool others into thinking that we have our act together. But on the inside, we can be a fractured mess. We can be a muddled mix of discontentment, anger, resentment, depression, fear, and anxiety. Our hearts can be far from God, but we have learned to sleep-walk our way through life, going through the motions and faking a form of piety that is purely surface-based, lacking any kind of depth or basis in reality. Others look at us and see us as having it together. But in time, the truth will come out. Our hearts will get exposed.

As believers, we must learn to look at the heart. That is where God focuses His attention. Back when God had sent the prophet Samuel to look for a candidate to replace Saul as king of Israel, He gave Samuel a piece of important advice: “Don’t judge by his appearance or height, for I have rejected him. The Lord doesn’t see things the way you see them. People judge by outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart" (1 Samuel 16:7 NLT). The Lord looks at the heart. He isn't impressed with outward appearances. He is not swayed by our swagger or blown away by our pious play-acting. He looks right into our hearts and sees what we're really like. And we need to learn to do the same thing. But to do so is going to require a level of honesty and self-evaluation that is scary. We will have to use the Word of God to expose us for what we truly are. We are going to have to ask God to reveal all the flaws and faults that reside inside us. Rather than make excuses for our behavior, we will have to take the time to see what really motivated us to do what we did or say what we said. Instead of passing blame, we will have to consider the state of our own heart. Because the heart is the key to all that we do. The circumstances of life do not cause our behavior, they simply reveal what's inside. A man with anger and resentment in his heart does not need much to trigger and release what's inside. He will explode at the least little provocation. A fearful person does not require much for his fear to find its way to the surface. His fear will leak out at the least little sign of danger. The lustful person will find himself struggling with lust in the most unlikely of scenarios, because his problem is internal, not external.

Taking a long, hard look at the heart is a scary proposition. It requires a degree of honesty and transparency that is unheard of and uncommon in our day. We don't want to see what's in there. We don't want to have to expose the hidden areas inside us that are the true motivator behind our attitudes and actions. We would much rather pass blame, make excuses, and continue our charade of false piety. But God looks at the heart. He examines and exposes its true condition. And He wants to change us from the inside out. So He goes to the source. He deals with the root problem. And so should we.

Father, give me the gumption to take a long, hard look at my heart. Help me see it as You do. I can't see it without Your help. Open my eyes and help me see its true condition. Then give me the strength to change, through the power of Your Holy Spirit. Amen.

X-Ray Vision.

Proverbs 21

“People may be right in their own eyes, but the Lord examines their heart.” – Proverbs 21:2 NLT

As human beings we can be the masters of deceit and deception. Over time we can learn the art of spin, controlling what others think about us and manipulating how they perceive us. In fact, how we're perceived can become far more important to us than reality. Our persona becomes our pseudo-personality. Perception becomes reality. After a while we can even begin to believe our own PR. We can convince ourselves that the facade we've erected is real, not imaginary – that the aura we give off is authentic, not self-manufactured and fake.

But while we may fool others and even ourselves with our Academy-Award-winning ways, God remains unconvinced and unimpressed. He looks right past our plastic, fake facade and sees into the very recesses of our heart. He examines our heart. The word used there is a term for measuring, as in a balance scale. He places our heart on one side of the scale and measures its real worth. He doesn't take into account any of the excess exterior trappings we've spent so much time creating. He goes right to the heart of the matter – literally. God takes a look at the condition of our heart and He sees us for who we really are and, if we allow Him, He will expose that rather than being the measure of all things, we are being measured.

God x-rays our hearts and reveals what's really going on under the shiny surface of our lives. He exposes our pride, anger and arrogance. He shows us our selfishness and self-centeredness. He lets us see our fears, faithlessness, spiritual adultery, and embarrassing weaknesses. But like a doctor examining a patient, God's goal is not just to expose sickness, He wants to bring about healing. He wants to get us off the surface issues and deal with the hard realities of our hearts. He wants to heal our hearts so that we might truly be what He desires for us to be. "Whoever pursues righteousness and unfailing love will find life, righteousness, and honor" (Proverbs 21:21 NLT). We can pursue wealth, pleasure, popularity, and a host of other things, but they will never deliver what we need. We can attempt to ignore our hearts and live in a fairy tale land of false identity and fake reality, but we will never find joy, peace, and contentment. So God examines our hearts and He gives us the results. But He also provides us with a prescription and a remedy for healing. He is the Great Physician and He knows how to heal our hearts and restore our souls. But it begins with a thorough examination and a correct, sometimes shocking diagnosis. Once we accept His assessment and place ourselves under His loving, capable hands, the healing can begin. Our heart can be made whole again. The facade can come down, the false identity can be removed and the man or woman God designed us to be can begin to reveal itself – from the inside out.

Father, we are the masters of deceit. We know something is wrong inside, but we don't know what it is or what to do about it. So we cover it up and act as if everything is fine. We learn to appear as something we're not. We learn to act a certain way and give off the aura we think others want to see. Make us real Father. Show us the true conditions of our hearts. Change us from the inside out so that we might know what it means to be what You've called us to be. Amen.