August 26 - Condition of the heart

August 26 - Condition of the heart

The heart is the strongest influence on you as a person. WE’ve already talked about his. The heart is constantly in motion, and it continues to drive us no matter what we are doing. The heart wants what the heart wants, and continually pulls us in a direction we don’t even understand we are going at times. 

Ok, remember that for a minute. 

Jesus continued on his sermon with this great section in vs. 21-26. 

Listen to what it says.

You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘You shall not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgement. 

Ok, listen to this, he is about to tell you the danger of an untamed heart. Listen to how he continues in vs. 22

But I tell you that anyone who is angry with a brother or sister will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to a brother or sister, ‘Raca’, is answerable to the court. And anyone who says, ‘You fool!’ Will be in danger of the fire of hell. 

Why did Jesus go from murderers being subject to judgment, to anyone who is angry with a brother or sister being in danger of judgment? Because the heart leads us to places we never thought we would go. 

If you ask someone who has done something that has derailed their life, 99% of the time they will tell you that it was one little decision after another. It wasn’t like they just woke up one day and said they wanted to ruin their life. They made a small decision back here, that led to a small decision over here, that led to another small decision after another small decision after another small decision, that eventually led to a massive, life-altering decision. The unchecked heart ruined them. 

Jesus is addressing this. If you let unchecked anger go, it causes you to mistreat people. IN fact, the problem with unchecked anger is that you actually take it out on people who aren’t even the one’s who caused your anger. You take it out on everyone. Your heart has been tainted, and now you are subject to judgement, because your actions reflect the condition of your heart. 

kNowing this, listen to what Jesus says next. . . . .He is about to show you how to be a peacemaker. You ready for this. So again, he is talking about you in the context of others. You don’t be anger, or you will be judged. . But listen to how profound what he says next really hits. . . 

Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your bother or sister has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to them; then come and offer your gift. 

Settle matters quickly with your adversary who is taking you to court. Do it while you are still together on the way, or you adversary may hand you over to the judge, and the judge may hand you over to the officer, and you may be thrown into prison. Truly I tell you, you will not get out until you have paid the last penny. 

So Jesus started by making sure we understand that the unchecked heart will only make things worse. So holding anger has already aligned your heart with the heart of a murderer. The only difference is that you haven’t acted on it. And knowing this, Jesus then says that if you know someone has something against you, go and make it right even before you offer a sacrifice. 

Why? 

Because you know that there is something unchecked in their heart, and it is controlling them without them even realizing it. They are subject to judgement because of something they are feeling toward you. So don’t let them sit in ruin because of you. Go and make it right with them. This is an act of peacemaking. You are reaching out to them and making sure thing are good so that it doesn’t consume them. 

And there is benefit to you if you do this! 

If you settle matters quickly, they won’t let this unchecked heart control them and cause there to be deeper punishment for something they are holding against you. They will settle down instead of taking you to court and draining you of everything you have. 

See, the unchecked heart ruins everyone! 

So you have to check your heart. Don’t let it take things further than they should be. And if someone has something against you, you owe it to them, to help them overcome it so their bitterness and heart doesn’t ruin them. 

The heart is dangerous. Peacemaking is remembering that people respond out of emotion all the time. They don’t necessarily mean what is happening, they are just being controlled by the emotion of their heart. So help people overcome this so they don’t allow themselves to get in a dangerous spot. And overcome it yourself too! This will help you to keep from doing something you will regret later! 

So here is the question. 

Who do you have something against? Who has hurt you, frustrated you, and made you mad? Figure out how to let go of that anger. By the way, this doesn’t mean just forgetting that person. Until you forgive someone and can think of them in a healthy way that wants best for them, the problem is still nestled deep into YOUR heart. Sometimes this takes professional help to overcome. Don’t let it go unchecked. You will realize when it is too late, that you are taking it out on the people around you that you never even realized you were taking it out on. 

And if you don’t have something against someone at this moment, think if there is someone who has something against you. Help them overcome their heart. Don’t allow them to get into a spot where there is bitterness. Be the bigger person and go to them and ask them to forgive whatever you have done to them. Even if you don’t agree with what they said happened, there is something to going and admitting that what they perceived was never your intention and that you are sorry you caused this type of pain to them. Then ask them to forgive you. This takes humility, courage, and. . . well a few words we’ve learned about. . .like meekness, mercy, pure in heart, oh, and peacemakers. . . 

Ok, think that through. Figure out who it is in your life that you need to work this out with. And as you wrestle with this, I pray it helps you to know what you believe, and why you believe it to be true. But always remember, I LOVE YOU! And as you learn to be a peacemaker and reconcile differences with other people, I pray that God blesses you!