What’s in Your Heart?
Ever since one of my readers on medium.com responded to a post about worldly thinking and worldly ways, I’ve been thinking and praying a lot. Later, another reader on medium challenged this same concept of worldliness. This particular reader pointed out the many good things in our world — parties, good books, cultural events, etc. The same reader commented on our need to allow plenty of mystery when it comes to talking about God and His ways. She is absolutely right on both counts.
Anyway, these are the kind of comments that have stimulated this ongoing meditation on my part as I ponder the question — what is worldly thinking and worldly ways? I’d like to offer some more thoughts on the subject today.
To begin with, I really do believe it comes down to the condition of our hearts. Jesus says a lot about this subject in the gospels. Here are just a few passages to consider -
- “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.” (Matthew 5:8)
- “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” (Matthew 6:21)
- “For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of.” (Luke 6:45)
- “These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me.” (Mark 7:6)
- “And do not set your heart on what you will eat or drink; do not worry about it. (Luke 12:29)
- “I know that you do not have the love of God in your hearts.” (John 5:42)
I’d like to add a verse from Proverbs 23:7 to these words of Jesus: “For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he.” (KJV)
The reason I add these words from Proverbs is that they show the connection between our thinking and our hearts. And I think this is the key to understanding what scripture condemns as worldly.
That which is opposed to or stands in the way of God’s kingdom and God’s will is worldly. Unfortunately, many Christians equate worldliness with certain activities or lifestyles. There is truth to this, but the problem with this kind of thinking is it ends up compiling a list of dos and don’ts. And it was the religious leaders in his day who condemned Jesus as worldly when they applied their dos and don’ts list to his behavior.
- Eating and drinking wine with his disciples instead of fasting like the Pharisees and John the Baptist’s disciples.
- Being a “friend” (that is, hanging out with) sinners.
- Not observing particular religious traditions that served as signs of holy living.
These were the kinds of things that, in the minds and hearts of the religious leaders of the Jews, served as evidence that Jesus was a worldly man whose life served as a mockery to God and God’s ways.
Worldliness, I strongly believe, is ultimately a condition of our hearts. While this condition may be seen in the lives we lead, each of us must be careful not to judge others for those things we feel a need to avoid, even reject. This is exactly what Paul said to the Corinthians who condemned fellow believers for eating meat sacrificed to idols. In the end, Paul said, it is a personal matter of conscience. (See I Corinthians 8)
That’s enough for today. I hope these articles on worldliness and Christian maturity are stimulating your thinking on this subject. I also hope you have been listening to my short podcasts from my upcoming book, Philemon, Reflections on Christian Maturity. The book has just been released. You can purchase it on Kindle, through Amazon. If you are a Kindle Unlimited member, you can read it for free.
In Christ,
Dan
Check out my podcasts from Church on the Edge and my books on Kindle.
