A Change of Heart
Proverbs 23 (NKJ)
12 Apply your heart to instruction,
And your ears to words of knowledge.
15 My son, if your heart is wise,
My heart will rejoice—indeed, I myself;
17 Do not let your heart envy sinners,
But be zealous for the fear of the Lord all the day;
19 Hear, my son, and be wise;
And guide your heart in the way.
26 My son, give me your heart,
And let your eyes observe my ways.
I’m sure it won’t surprise anyone that I often fail to do the things I intend to do and sometimes do things that I later regret. It occurred to me this morning as I read Proverbs 23 that it isn’t my brain that is at fault. The repeated use of the word heart in Proverbs reveals the real source of sin. Most of us have committed the basics of the Ten Commandments to memory, and we know the Golden Rule and we understand the principles of love, forgiveness, and charity. Our brain understands…our heart disobeys. When motivated by lust, greed, gluttony, anger, or envy, it ignores and overrides the knowledge of our brain and acts willfully under the power of emotion.
We often say that someone has had a “change of heart”. That’s truly what many of us need in order to lead a better life.
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