The Heart of the Matter

My mind has been occupied over the past 22 hours or so with a single idea, and this idea gets deeper and deeper the longer I choose to dwell on it.  What is it that fills a human's heart, and how in the world is it possible to know what it is that is in our own hearts?

Last night Zachary, Mom, Dad, and I sat down to a movie entitled "What Did You Expect?".  It's main focus is on how to have a healthy marriage, but it's principles are applicable to all relationships, even with the one that wars between your own two ears.  Paul David Tripp, the speaker in this film, talked about our hearts and what occupies them.  The truth is that what is in our hearts is what eventually comes out of us in one way or another.

By way of explanation, perhaps I should enter a personal story.  There are times when I get extremely impatient with various customers at the store who are very particular about how they want their groceries packed, how they want the bags set in the cart, etc., etc, etc.  Inside, my head begins to spin and I tend to just want to scream at them for them to bag their own groceries instead of getting on my back about it!  What has to be realized here is that the things I want to scream at them is what is really in my heart.  It's what I really want them to know and what I really want to say to them, instead of "Have a good day!"  *Insert forced smile*

Mr. Tripp explained it in this way.  He took a bottle of water, unscrewed the lid, and began to shake it about, thus spilling some of its contents on the floor.  He then asked the audience:  "Why did water come out of the bottle?  Because it was water that was in the bottle." 

This is why it's so important for us to be of pure mind and to watch what we meditate on.  After all, we live out of our hearts.  The thoughts and feelings we experience in our hearts are what dictate our actions.

Philipians 4:8,"Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable -- if anything is excellent or praiseworthy -- think about such things."  If we do these things, it will change what is in our hearts, therefore changing how we live our lives.