Skip to main content

A Pure Heart

             Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. (Psalm 51:10)

Can you imagine life as a musical? You’re on your way to work and suddenly there’s a flashmob dancing it way along the street. You edge past them and park your car at the same time that your boss gets out of his and struts around proclaiming what a powerful person he’s going to be, dancing his way across the top of his car and yours, and demanding that you join in… And that, all in ten minutes. Imagine the rest of that exhausting day.

People have described me as intense. Like most people, I’ve been taught that it’s not polite to get vent to my feelings or to tromp over others in my attack of whatever it is that has my focus. And that’s a good thing. I probably still vent and tromp more than I should - at least according to some folks. But somewhere along the line, I crossed a line. While it was acceptable for others to be passionate - even sometimes to the point of rudeness - it was not acceptable for me to be passionate about much, and then only quietly so. It was OK that I was into genealogy but do it at home and don’t bore everyone with it.

And there’s a little validity to that, but the point is that the lesson I learned was not how to be polite, it was that I am unacceptable. My opinions and intensity should be kept to myself. And I’m not having a pity party here - but do you see how subtle the strategy can be?

And so, we come to today’s passage with the understanding that even if our heart isn’t sinful, it may be so clogged with the lies and lessons the world, the flesh, and the devil have taught it that it’s like a pool into which sludge has been dumped, thimbleful by thimbleful every day over the years. The filter is now clogged, the water is brown and green, and you just avoid it. It’s not healthy for anyone to drink or splash around in.

We need for God to create a pure heart in us, not just because of our sin, but because of what has been done to it. We need Him to renew a steadfast spirit because ours had been beaten down. I have tended to see this passage as a “Woe is me, I’m a sinful worm” passage. Under the circumstances in which it was written, it is about sin and its effects in our lives, but what is true about our sin and its effects can also be true about the sin of others and its effect.

We should be gently and unapologetically passionate about some things. But to do that, we need a clean heart that is regularly maintained in good working order.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The List

              Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,   through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we boast in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance;   perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us. (Romans 5:1-5)           Think about it. We have been justified. At least, we could be justified if we stopped insisting that our justification be based on our merits. We have peace with God, or could have peace if we stopped throwing temper tantrums. We have gained access into grace i...
Post a Comment
Read more

Listen!

  While he was still speaking, a bright cloud enveloped them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. Listen to him!” (Matthew 17:5)            Do you like roller coasters? I don't. You spend forever climbing a hill. You get to the top and have half a second, then you race down to a low point. Sometimes the racing down involves tying your insides into knots. At the bottom, you either have to be dragged up another hill or you get off the ride. Peter's life was a roller coaster from the time he met Jesus. There would be miracles, and then Jesus would teach things that didn't always make sense, and then they'd go out and perform miracles, and return to be taught. Peter was praised for giving the right answer to "Who do you say that I am?" Jesus said that said answer came from God. Peter was at the top of the hill.            ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Prayer Lists

                 Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, now that you have tasted that the Lord is good. (I Peter 2:2-3)   In connection with what I wrote yesterday about the possibility that I’m wrong, I’m feeling the need to go back to basics - craving spiritual milk because somehow, I missed something. It’s a little embarrassing, craving milk like a newborn, but the truth probably is that we are newborns many times in many ways in our lives. From God’s perspective, we may never be anything more than newborns, forever needing that milk. On the other hand, being a newborn can also be exciting because so much is new. My mind is playing pinball - ricocheting from one idea to the next and through six more before it happens to hit the third again. The main topic is prayer. I have at least seven organizing structures all somewhat influenced by the movie War Room , which I’v...
Post a Comment
Read more