The Importance of a Pure Heart
Matthew 5:8
All of us are familiar with the purpose of a greenhouse. People who have greenhouses are usually in the business of selling flowers or other shrubbery or just want one so they can keep flowers year round. The temperature, of course, is warmer in a greenhouse, thus the name that we are all becoming familiar with in our world as we talk about the greenhouse effect or global warming. Since the temperature is warm-and since the top protects the flowers from such things as frost or the harmful rays of the sun, flowers can be kept year round.
I once knew a couple whose yard was filled with different types of flowers. Just before fall and the chance of frost arrived, they would spend an enormous amount of time moving those flowers to a greenhouse. This of course would save them money because they would not have to buy all those flowers again in the spring. So that is another advantage and function of a greenhouse.
Usually plants grow faster, better and are healthier in a greenhouse. The atmosphere is perfect and the temperature is suited for flowers, fruit or anything one desires to grow.
But suppose you and I went out one day to gather seeds from plants we wanted to grow in this greenhouse. I walk out into a field and begin to strip seeds off of weeds. I take seeds from crab grass, dandelions, grass burrs and such. I fill a bag with these seeds and then return to the greenhouse. You begin to question my sanity because I told you earlier that I wanted a greenhouse full of flowers and fruit. I answer your protest, “Do you have any idea how much those seeds cost? Besides, you have to drive all the way to the garden center to get them. No thanks, I’m taking the easy and cheap route.” Doesn’t make much sense does it?
In this Beatitude in Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount, he says; “God blesses those whose hearts are pure, for they will see God.” Jesus would later tell a parable of a farmer sowing seed. Some of the seed fell on the footpath that ran between the fields. It was very packed down as we have observed a well-traveled dirt road to be. The birds soon came and ate the seed. Other seed fell on soil that was shallow and had rock beneath it. While the seed sprouted, there was no depth for the roots, and it soon withered and died. Some seed fell in ground infested with thorns. They soon sprouted with the seed and eventually choked out the plants. Then some seed fell on good ground, sprouted, produced plants and much fruit.
Jesus is saying in both of these passages that it is important that we have pure hearts. It is only in the pure heart that he can scatter his teachings and expect fruit to result. Only the pure in heart will really be able to encounter God. Folks with hearts that are not pure do not function correctly and cannot be used adequately by God.
Maybe some of you have known or know people whose hearts were just worn out. I once knew a man who had this condition. He was not up in age, but he just had a bad heart. They had done all they could do for him except give him a new heart. Those who are on the list for a heart transplant have to carry a beeper around with them so they can be notified as soon as an organ comes in for them. Unfortunately, he never received his and he finally died.
I was once reading in Reader’s Digest about a mother with two sons. One night they were with their friends at a neighborhood hangout when a Cadillac came by and taunting began to take place between the two groups of people. Not long after, the Cadillac returned, but this time someone inside began shooting. One of her sons was hit right behind the ear. The bullet completely destroyed his brain, and without life support, his heart and lungs would fail too. As she was trying to cope with this, someone asked her to meet with the counselors from the Transplant Donor Network. They explained to her that her son could give life and sight to others by donating his organs. Reluctantly, she agreed, and her son was able to give his heart to an older man who was in desperate need of it. Because his heart was pure and undamaged, it was useful to someone else.
It is vitally important that we have pure hearts so we can be useful to God and others. Like in many cases, when Jesus speaks of having a pure heart, he is not talking about our organ or it being in perfect shape. In God’s world, we can have a bad physical heart and still have a good heart in his sight. Words we might find more familiar are mind, will or emotions. He wants us to have a pure mind. He wants us to be clean and pure as he was.
Going back to the greenhouse illustration, we are all familiar with the fact that we reap what we sow. If I sow the seeds from weeds in my greenhouse, I will grow weeds, not plants, flowers or fruit. In like manner, if we sow bad things in our hearts or minds, we will reap the results. Jesus says what comes out of our mouths or in our actions is what’s really inside. If we have an evil heart or mind, then evil things will come out in our actions. We cannot consistently be someone on the outside that we are not on the inside. The reverse is also true.
Our hearts or minds are like greenhouses. They are a magnificent gift from God. The only reason the Bible classifies them as evil is because of our sinful nature. Originally, they were pure and can be made so again by receiving Christ’s forgiveness and feeding them with godly things. Our minds are also perfectly suited for growing things just as the greenhouse is. However, just like the flowers or plants in the greenhouse, our minds have to be managed. Even though plants and flowers grow well in a greenhouse, they still have to be tended to. You cannot plant them, leave them alone and expect to get any results.
We might think of our thoughts as the seed that is sown in that greenhouse. The thoughts we think are very important because from those thoughts will come actions. Some of our thoughts bloom as the beautiful flower, but some of our thoughts turn out to be weeds. We can sow seeds of hope and we will have an optimistic outlook on life, but we can sow thoughts of doubt and become a pessimist. You are familiar with the old illustration. Show an optimist and pessimist a glass half full of water. The optimist will say it is half full but the pessimist will say it is half-empty.
When we meet these different types of people, we need to remember that they are different because of the type of thoughts they think. The same is true for us. I’ve known people who seem to be upbeat all the time. Nothing seems to get them down. They are always happy and smiling. When you share some difficult time you are going through, they always have an encouraging word to lift your spirits. They seem to have what Max Lucado calls a “Teflon” capacity to resist negativism and pessimism.
Those who have ever done any baking are familiar with the Teflon coating. Take two bread pans. One is coated with Teflon and the other is not. Grease them and bake bread in them. You will have to beat, run a knife down the side and perhaps other things to get the bread in the non-coated pan to come out without falling apart. But the pan with the Teflon coating is different. Turn it over and the bread will drop right out. Now the pan with the Teflon coating will cost you more, but it’s worth it.
Then there are those people who have a sour outlook on life. They always find something to complain about. They complain about others. They complain about their health. They complain about the church, the deacons, and the pastor. They complain about the economy and the president. You’ve met people like that.
It’s like the man who came home one day to a cranky wife. After arriving at 6:30 in the evening, he spent an hour trying to cheer her up, but nothing worked. Finally he said, “Let’s start over and pretend I’m just getting home.” So she said, “It’s 7:30, and you’re just now getting home from work?”
Since our hearts or minds are like greenhouses, we must be very careful what we sow. We also should be very selective what seeds we let in the door. In Proverbs, we read, “Above all else, guard your heart, for it affects everything you do.” (Proverbs 4:23) This is true in the spiritual sense but also in the physical realm. If we have a bad heart, we will be limited in what we can do physically. Spiritually speaking, if we have a bad heart, it will affect how God can use us.
We can test this truth by appealing to several scenarios. Take two people who are stuck in a traffic jam. One might become angry because his schedule has been messed up while the other would see it as a good chance to slow down.
There is an Andy Griffith episode that illustrates this very well. A busy businessman comes through Mayberry on a Sunday, heading for Charlotte. His car breaks down. Of course, on Sunday it is impossible to get any mechanical work done. He gets unbelievably stressed out over his situation, until Gomer’s cousin Goober finally repairs his car. By this time, however, the slow relaxed pace of Mayberry has influenced him and he decides to spend the night anyway.
Take two mothers who face the same tragedy. One is destroyed and convinces herself she will never get over it. The other has faith that God will see her through.
Or two executives who face success. One pats himself on the back and believes that his ingenuity is responsible for his success while the other one gives God the credit for his success.
Or the two husbands who commit the same marital failure. One assumes he has crossed the line and God’s grace is no longer available to him while the other gratefully assumes a new depth in understanding the limitless bounds of God’s grace.
God expects us to take care of what enters our minds or hearts. Suppose I ask you to take care of my house while I am out of town. You give me your word that you will, but when I return the place is in shambles. The carpet is torn, the walls are smeared with crayons and the furniture is broken. When I question you, you tell me that some bikers came by and needed a place to stay. Then the rugby team called looking for a place to have a party. Then a local fraternity wanted a place to hold an initiation ceremony. You obliged them all. I ask you this question, “Don’t you know how to say no? This is not your house. You don’t have the right to let in everyone who wants to enter.”
Don’t you think God says that to us sometimes? Our hearts or minds are the dwelling place of his Spirit, and we must be very careful about what we let in. Let’s face it. Some of our hearts are trashed out. We have thrown open the door and let things in that we should have said no to, like anger, revenge, pity, lust, etc.
I trust we understand that thought management is very important. We hear so much about time management, weight management, personnel management and other types of management in our world but very little about thought management.
Jesus managed his thoughts, and as his followers we have the same responsibility. When the people tried to make him king on one occasion, he rejected their intentions knowing this was not God’s plan. In doing so, he kept out arrogance. On another occasion when he was telling his followers about his coming end, Peter rebuked him. Jesus classified him as acting like Satan and told him to get out of the way, thereby rejecting the thought that there was some other way to pay for our sins other than Calvary.
Paul writes in Philippians, “Your attitude should be the same that Christ Jesus had.” (Philippians 2:5) We should all agree to make the following statement: “I will submit my thoughts to the authority of Jesus.”
Of all the authority figures we might have to submit to during our lifetime, Jesus should be the supreme authority. He is more authoritative than our parents, government, employer, etc. When we think what we have done is too bad to be forgiven, we need to submit that thought to Jesus’ authority because he says we are never beyond his reach. When we are tempted to do things that are wrong, we need to submit those ideas to Jesus’ authority because he tells us that wrong is never right.
The Bible says we should “fight to capture every thought until it acknowledges the authority of Christ.” (II Corinthians 10:5) It is very simple but more difficult in practice. If God agrees with the thought, let it in, but if he doesn’t kick it out. The Bible, of course, is the place to go to check out the right or wrongfulness of our thoughts. It is very important that we guard the doorways of our hearts.
