Blessed are...

The Deceitful Heart

“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.” Matthew 5:8

To the Hebrew mind, the heart was not just the source of human emotion, it was also the seat of the will. If the body is the spaceship, then the heart is the control center. The heart is where beliefs are held, opinions are formed, and decisions are made. It is also, as the prophet Jeremiah pointed out, “deceitful above all things, beyond a cure.”[1]

Jesus was well aware of the tendencies of the human heart. On more than one occasion He warned about the evil of which the heart is capable. In Matthew 15, He tells His listeners that, “out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, and slander.”[2] Yet, in the Beatitudes, Jesus charges those who would follow Him with the need to become pure in heart.

It seems an impossible task. When we are honest we readily accept Jesus’ assessment. We are all experts at deception. We don’t just say one thing and mean another, most of the time we fall for our own lies. We’ve become so adept at self-deception that we believe our own spin. It is as if the command center has been infiltrated by those with a different agenda. Instead of seeking the things that lead to purity and peace, we are experts at hi-jacking our own best thoughts. We are our own worst enemies. As Paul said, we are really good at avoiding the good, and hopeless at avoiding evil.[3] Our hearts are corrupt, yet Jesus says that they must be pure, if we are to see God. How can this be? Isn’t it an impossible dream?


Holy God,
Even as I reach towards You, my heart recoils,
for before You – I cannot stand.
I long for purity, but cannot attain it.
Will I never see You, or am I doomed to failure,
forever reaching for a perfection beyond my grasp?
Come to me, Lord, in Holy Spirit power,
cleanse me and make me pure.
For Jesus’ sake.
Amen.


[1] Jeremiah 17:9
[2] Matthew 15:19
[3] Romans 7:19