OUT OF NOWHERE. REALLY? NOT REALLY!
The Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. Genesis 6:5
A husband and father of three flips out, packs his bags, and leaves for good. Not seeing it coming, his family and friends say that it came out of nowhere.
A young man in his thirties, raised in the best of Christian families, announces that he is homosexual and wishes to marry a new lover. The family is heartbroken and just didn’t see it coming. They also say that this came out of nowhere.
Did Cain kill Abel out of nowhere? Probably Adam and Eve would have testified that this was so. Do all shocking sins, and less noticeable grievances against God, originate spontaneously? God says no!
Every evil deed originates from the heart. Inside of each of us is a world of simmering thoughts. Millions a day. We each have our pet topics, the things we choose to think about more often. Cain’s murder of his brother began long before the day he struck him. Jealousy, rage, disgust, these are the longtime breeding grounds for the taking of a life. A father or mother who packs their bags and leave their family didn’t do it on the spur of a moment. Long-time unrest of the soul was the focus of this person’s thought life. Daydreaming of life elsewhere had been their pastime.
God saw the demonic fornication prior to the flood and declared it evil. His condemnation was of things outward. Then God commented on the hearts of the people and declared them evil as well. That was of things inward. My actions and words today are the summation of my thoughts. Jesus said so. “But those things which proceed out of the mouth come forth from the heart; and they defile the man. For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, and blasphemies.” Matt. 15:18-19
I can pray continually for someone’s behavior to change. That doesn’t hit the mark for where the real sin exists. I need to pray for their heart change, for their internal world that simmers with evil thoughts. Man sees the outside but God sees the heart. It’s the heart that needs transformation. Change a man’s heart and his behavior will follow.
If I don’t like what I do, all my bad habits, take me to their source. Show me my heart. Amen.
For more from Christine Wyrtzen and Jaime Wyrtzen Lauze, please visit www.daughtersofpromise.org
For more from Christine Wyrtzen and Jaime Wyrtzen Lauze, please visit www.daughtersofpromise.org
Originally published Thursday, 12 March 2020.
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