“I the LORD search the heart and examine the mind, to reward a man according to his conduct, according to what his deeds deserve."
Jeremiah 17:10
About a week ago I blogged about the Issues of the heart. As I continue to seek God about the condition of my own heart, He continues to reveal just how deceitful it truly is. The good news, however, is that I prayed for Him to remove those things in my heart that were defiling my entire being and He has been faithful to deliver. The issues are not removed completely - it is a process - but know that when I fall, He is right there to restore me. I am standing on God’s promise in Ezekiel.... And I will give you a new heart, and I will put a new spirit in you. I will take out your stony, stubborn heart and give you a tender, responsive heart. The process of improvement has been humbling and has caused me to really examine the definition, concept and practice of Love.
Love is the ultimate ethic. Ethics being the moral philosophy that address questions such as good and evil, right and wrong. We have to choose to Love. It is a choice. One of the greatest gifts of God, in my opinion, is the freedom of will - freedom to choose. Freedom to choose good over evil or evil over good. Freedom to choose right over wrong or wrong over right. It begs the question then what is considered good or right and what is considered wrong or evil. God gives us a moral law. He tells us what is right and what is wrong and then allows us to choose. The greatest illustration of the freedom to choose is the life of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. God gave them total dominion over everything on the earth - that they could be fruitful and multiply. God gives them that there is one thing they cannot do. They can eat of every tree that is in the garden with the exception of the “tree of the knowledge of good and evil”. Adam and Eve disobey God. They choose to listen to the devil, eat of the tree that was forbidden and ultimately fall into sin. God wants us to choose what is right because we love Him and want to keep His commands, but He does not force us to do so. The decision is made in the heart. Free will is essential to love. When we violate that love in our heart it leads to evil. The heart must recognize the difference between good and evil and choose what is good. When we choose evil there are consequences as a result - and oftentimes those consequences are cataclysmic. We must choose love. Love cannot truly be in our hearts absent of God because God is love. Whether it is the conniving, lying parishioner; the adulterous husband or wife; the person that bears false witness against their neighbor; government officials on all levels stealing - causing financial devastation of large numbers of people. Everything from the actions of Bernie Madoff and Enron executives that left thousands in financial ruin and despair - to global mass murderers like Hitler, Stalin, Idi Amin - and the list goes on. All of these evil acts started and were cultivated in the heart of man.
It is important to run a perpetual heart check so that we might always choose good over evil. We will not be able to make these decisions on our own. We have to ask God to help us do what He has deemed as right. You will find his precepts and His will poured out in His word. We must be mindful, for the Lord has said that He will search our hearts, examine our minds and reward us according to our conduct.
Be blessed......
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