Keeping Your Heart in the Right Place
Introduction
Manufacturers have regularly recalled such items as automobiles, television sets and, of course, more recently, Chinese built children’s toys. If defective, these items can be very dangerous. In 1972, General Electric issued what may be the ultimate recall: 487 heart pacemakers, almost all of them already in the chests of patients.
The defect was not in G.E.’s basic design, but in one of the pacemaker’s parts. A subcontractor for one of the unit’s circuits changed the cement used in its manufacture, unwittingly substituted one that could transmit electric current. This supplied more power from the built-in battery than was needed and affected the governor of the mechanism.
The error was expensive to the manufacturer and inconvenient to many patients. Replacement involves a 15-minute operation and several days of observation in a hospital. (Time Magazine, April 24, 1972, “The Ultimate Recall”)
The heart is not something we can do without. It’s a necessary part of daily living. Without it, we can’t survive. But the heart that beats blood in our chest is not the only kind of heart we can have.
We can have a heart of caring or a heart of selfishness, a heart of compassion or a heart of self-centered concerns. Today, we’re going to look at actions and attitudes that determine our purpose and leads how we do things. We’re going to take a look at how good our heart is.
The Life and Heart of Israel
In the Old Testament lesson read a moment ago, the prophet Amos described an Israel that had hardened their heart. They were focused on the good things in life, but only for themselves.
During this time, the kingdom of Israel was ruled by the King Jeroboam the second and experienced great prosperity. Since the days of Solomon, they had never been more powerful or influence in the world. They had peace of mind through the strength of their military forces. They had reached new power through their political connections.
They lived comfortable lives with the finest furnishings. They had plenty to eat and drink. In fact, it wasn’t enough just to have a glass of wine, they had to supersize it. They lived the high-life with no cares in the world; living in the lap of luxury in full assurance and security.
Life was good for the Israelites. But, their comfortable life style led them away from God. Amos described an Israel that enjoyed the best things in life and pursued even greater things. They used the backs of their fellow Israelites to build up wealth and were unconcerned with the plight of others. Instead, the Israelites became more concerned with material possessions rather than the will of God. They became indifferent to God, His law and his people. (Charles Salmon, “The Enemy Within: Indifference”)
Instead, they became comfortable with the sin in their lives, comfortable with the lost world around them, comfortable with the things that should break their hearts, comfortable with the things that should motivate people to work for the Lord. Instead, they ignored the plight of others and fell more and more into the decadence of desire. (Jim Drake, “All You Can Ease Buffet”)
Amos tried to shake his people free from their attitude of apathy by proclaiming the destruction that lay ahead. The prophet preached doom and gloom for only one reason; he want to spur people to repentance. Amos tried as hard as he could to get Israel to change, but their hearts remained cold. Their hearts were pulled away from God’s will and towards their own desires.
The Life and Heart of Western Society
Much of what Israel was doing is very similar to what we see in our society today. It’s self-centered in many respects and focused on the materialistic desires and the enjoyment of excess. Society shows us examples of selfish and self-centered living, putting the pleasures of self ahead of others regardless of who is hurt, as well as the application of standards by using an “if it feels good, do it” attitude.
Through peer pressure, the successes of advertising and the untold number of images placed all around us, many are trying to pull our hearts in directions that don’t match what God wants us to do.
It’s obvious that society doesn’t follow the “treat others as we would like to be treated” ideal. It’s more of a “dog-eat-dog world” out there. There has always been problems with society’s standards following the whims of sinful men instead of the absolute truth of God. This is nothing new. During Amos time, Israel felt they were indestructible; they became more concerned with building their own self esteem instead of taking care of the flock of Joseph.
Then, as well as now, the world seeks outward prosperity while allowing inward decay. It exploits the helpless and dwells on self-indulgence. Although the world has changed significantly, the problems are still predominantly the same.
We still see people being hurt almost every day. Some are hurt by others. Some are hurt by situations. Some are hurt by decisions they make themselves. Often these people need help. Often that help requires our time, our talents and sometimes, even our money. Giving that help, requires a heart that cares for others.
A famous Pastor, A. W. Tozer said “We know the widest thing in the universe is not space; it is the potential capacity of the human heart. And one of the world’s greatest tragedies is that we allow our hearts to shrink until there is room in them for little besides ourselves.” What we really need is a good heart ready to accept the will of God and the needs of others.
A Good Heart for God
We in the Christian community are not to be the same as the world around us. We should be different because we are different. We should be doing things not just to please ourselves, but to please God as well. Just like a young child tries to do things that please parents, we too should be doing things to please our heavenly Father above.
But, to do these things, we must have a heart for God. Of course, the big question is, how do we open our heart to God?
One way is through a healthy prayer life. When things get tough and we’re plagued with troubles in our lives, we turn to God and ask for help to get us through the ordeal. When medical problems, financial problems, relationship problems or some other crisis come along, that’s when we’re most likely to find ourselves on our knees turning to God for help and assistance. There’s nothing wrong with turning to God when we need help. As our Father, he’s always there willing to listen to us.
But, we should be talking to him when things are good also. When Israel was living the high-life, the people tended to turn away from God. We should learn from the mistakes they made. We have the opportunity to pray and thank God for a wonderful meal, for a comfortable life style or even a safe drive to and from work. We can thank him about virtually everything in our lives. Like the Israelites, we too are living the high-life.
We can also pray for direction and guidance. We often run into situations where we may not know exactly what to do. Perhaps we have a difficult decision ahead of us and are unsure how we should be proceeding. God speaks to us through our prayer life.
He also speaks to us through his Word. In one form or another, the Bible has been used as a trusted source of inspiration and guidance since well before the time of Amos. Through time, God has spoken to the prophets and teachers of old and handed down the truth we have today. This same scripture is still with us today. Through the reading and studying of the Bible, we can discern not only his will for our lives, but the love that he has for us as his creation and as his children. Even when Israel made their mistakes and slipped down the path of disobedience, God still continued to love them. He still love us today.
God wants to walk with us and have fellowship with us. Yet, we must choose to walk with Him. God wants to have a relationship with us, but we need to agree to make that relationship a reality. (loosely based on Bob Leroe’s “The Shepherd-Prophet”)
A Good Heart for Others
In addition to our heart for God, we should also have a good heart for our fellow men and women. There are hurting people all around us. But, with our busy lives, we often find it difficult to find the time to stop and assist. Sometimes, we choose to spend the time on ourselves, rather than those who truly need our help and assistance.
We’re busy people. Between our 40 plus hour work week, volunteer activities and running the kids around to sporting events, dance practice, band rehearsals or any number of any other activities we have little time for anything else. Where are we going to find time to help others in need?
The answer is often right in front of us. When we see someone at work who is acting less happy than normal, it may be a sign that something is wrong. Taking the time out of our day and asking if everything is okay is a small thing and listening to the concerns that they may have is but a small token that we can do to take care of others
How many are likely to stop on the side of the road and help someone who is changing a tire? How many are willing to intervene if a fight breaks out near a school? Through any number of events, we may have the opportunity to serve with a listen ear, a helping hand, a word of advice or even a shoulder to cry on. Anyone can do these things. All of these forms of assistance are all services to God as well as men.
Just by paying attention to the needs of those around us, and having a bit of compassion and concern for our fellow men, we can improve the condition of our hearts and work towards pleasing God in the process.
Conclusion
Sometimes a simple story can summarize how little actions can impact people in big ways. Listen to this story on how a simple, unobtrusive act of caring can change the lives around us.
One day, Christopher Kerr was walking home from high school when he noticed another student from his class also walking home from school but carrying all his books. Christopher wondered why anybody would bring their books home on a weekend. Why study when there were parties to be had and football games to be played?
Some other kids must have been thinking along the same lines. They ran at the boy, knocked all his books out of his arms and tripped him so he landed in the dirt. His glasses went flying, landing about ten feet away in the grass. The boy looked up and with a terrible sadness in his eyes. Christopher’s heart went out to him. He jogged over, picked up the boy’s glasses and handed them back to him. He helped him pick up his books, and asked him where he lived. As it turned out, his name was Kyle and he lived near Chris. They’d never met because Kyle had only recently switched from a private school to Chris’ school. The boys talked all the way home, and a friendship was begun. Chris invited Kyle to play football on Saturday with his friends. They spent most of the weekend together and Kyle became part of Chris’ friendship circle.
Over the next four years, Chris and Kyle became best friends. Kyle also went on to do very well academically and to be very popular. Graduation day Kyle was class valedictorian. As he started his speech, he cleared his throat, and began.
"Graduation is a time to thank those who helped you make it through those tough years. Your parents, your teachers, your siblings, maybe a coach... but mostly your friends. I am here to tell all of you that being a friend to someone is the best gift you can give them. I am going to tell you a story."
Kyle told the story of that first day he met Chris. He was carrying his books home because he had planned to kill himself over the weekend. He had cleaned out his locker so his mum wouldn’t have to do it later. He looked hard at Chris and said "Thankfully, I was saved. My friend saved me from doing the unspeakable."
A gasp went through the crowd as this handsome, popular boy shared about his weakest moment. And a gasp went through Chris. Not until that moment did he realize the significance of their first encounter.
The moral of this story is quite apparent. Never underestimate the power of your actions. With one small gesture you can change a person’s life. (www.ozsermonillustrations.com, “How Friendship Saved a Life”)
You never know when and how you can impact the lives of others. Opportunities are all around us to share out time, our talents, and especially our hearts, with those in need. When we serve our fellow men by helping them in everyday situations and listening to their problems, we are serving God. It’s by doing these things that we show that we have a heart God as well as men.
Martin Luther probably said it best, “The human heart is like a ship on a stormy sea, driven about by winds blowing from all four corners of heaven.” We can’t change the direction of wind in society, but we can choose which wind we will follow. God has a path already laid out for us and through prayer and scripture we can find that path and please our heavenly Father.
