Matters of the Heart

I think that some of the most challenging words of Jesus are found in today’s reading from Matthew 5.

In v.v. 1-10 we find what are often called the Beatitudes.  I can remember that as a kid, around age 12, I had to memorize these for my Confirmation Class, along with a bunch of other stuff.  Unfortunately, these are no longer something I can recite from memory, but I remember at the time thinking that these were really strange.

I couldn’t wrap my mind around the fact that Jesus was turning things upside down for me.  I still have trouble wrapping my mind around it.  But what we see is that being blessed is a matter of the heart.  So often we have this idea that blessing is something tangible or material, and it can be.  But Jesus tells us that being blessed is more a matter of attitude and understanding the way that God works in our heart. 

Blessing comes from knowing that we are poor in spirit on our own, and absolutely need Jesus at the center of our lives.  Blessing comes from being comforted by Jesus in times of mourning.  Blessing comes through humility and meekness, and knowing in our hearts that we’re not as great or as important as we think we are.  Blessing comes from the hunger in our hearts as we seek the righteousness of Jesus.  Blessing comes from releasing anger and feelings of wrath from our hearts and showing mercy to those who have sinned against us.  Blessing comes from having a pure heart that is set on seeing the Kingdom of God come to fruition in every area of our lives.  Blessing comes from the freedom of knowing that because we have peace with God through Jesus that we are called to make peace with others.  And blessing comes when our hearts and spirits are crushed by those who mock or hurt us because of our faith, because it is a sign that we are seeking after God whole heartedly. 

We can’t read these words without realizing how much being rightly related to God is a matter of the attitudes of our hearts towards Him.

In v.v. 13-14 Jesus talks about how those who follow him are salt and light in a world full of decay and darkness.  The metaphors are really striking when we pause to think about them.  In Jesus’ world, salt was a life giving substance.  It was used as decay prevention and to protect people from food borne illnesses that could kill them.  We take light for granted, because we can flip a switch and have it on demand.  But in Jesus’ day, everything was dark unless there was light to illuminate it.  The light of Jesus in our hearts reveals that we indeed belong to him, and points the way to Jesus for those living in darkness.

We can’t read these words without realizing how much being rightly related to God is a matter of the attitude of our hearts towards the world in which we live.

And then the rubber really meets the word as Jesus talks about what it means to live a life of holiness and righteousness on a personal level.  V.20 always stuck me as odd when Jesus says, “For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven.”  What’s so striking about this is that the very people that Jesus holds up as an example of righteousness were the very people that were always at war with him.  How can this be?

You see, the “righteousness” of the Pharisees was a righteousness based on following and keeping a whole bunch of laws and rules.  Some of the laws were given by God in the Old Testament.  Some of the laws and rules were made by men over the course of centuries and added undue baggage and burden to those who struggled to keep them.  For the Pharisees and teachers of the law, righteousness was all about outward appearances.

What Jesus is saying here is that righteousness is far more about matters of the heart than it is about keeping laws and regulations.  We’ve got to be careful with this though.  Many people that experience the grace and love of Jesus want to disregard God’s instructions for holiness and right living.  But Jesus doesn’t leave that option to us.  The law is not abolished in Jesus, but fulfilled.  In other words, the life that Jesus lived – a perfect, sinless life – is the full expression of the fulfillment of all that God commands.  Jesus would later boil this down to two commandments: Love God with your heart, mind, soul and strength and love your neighbor as yourself.

Our righteousness comes from the heart, in our love for God; our love for ourselves and our love for other people.  True righteousness is expressed as obedience to the law of God because of our love for God.  We can keep rules and obey laws because we fear the punishment or the consequences, or we can obey God because we love Him and believe that His ways are ways that lead to life and blessing. 

When I was a kid, I was a pretty good kid, compared to most of my friends.  I have 2 older brothers, and they were just about perfect – according to my Mom anyway – but compared to them, I was a hellion.  Although I had learned the Beatitudes as a child and attended church and Sunday School and youth group as regularly as anybody else I knew, my own sense of my righteousness was based on being a good kid and staying out of trouble.

But I was good because I feared punishment.  I hated when I got spanked as a child.  My mom would use a rubber spatula on the back of my bare legs.  That hurt!  In comparison to many of my friends though, that was nothing.  I’d watch friends get spanked by their dads’ belts.  I’d see friends get wooden spoons broken over their butts at the hands of an angry mother.  I knew that wasn’t for me.  I can only remember my dad spanking one time in my life, and that was enough for me.  I was going to be a good kid.

And so as I grew into my teen years, I avoided many of the sins that my friends were engaged in.  I didn’t drink.  I didn’t take advantage of girls.  I didn’t have a foul mouth – well most of the time anyway.   I avoided a lot of the things my friends immersed themselves in.  Compared to them, I was doing it right and living righteously.  But mostly because I didn’t want to get caught and get punished.  The problem was, I was just like a Pharisee.

When I was 16 years old and a sophomore in high school, some other teenagers and their youth pastor told me about my need for Jesus.  I really wrestled with this.  I was a good kid.  Their stories of radical salvation, while moving, didn’t really resonate with me.  But somehow, God spoke through my arrogance and self-righteousness and helped me to see that I DID need Jesus.  All of those good things I did were nothing because I didn’t love God with all I had.  My own rule keeping wasn’t righteousness.  I needed a Savior and I needed to obey God because I love Him.  And I agreed.  That was the first time in my life where I WANTED a Savior and where I WANTED to please God because I love Him.

All of us need to come to that realization, and continually live in it.  As Matthew 5 continues, Jesus talks about murder, adultery, divorce, oaths, revenge and loving enemies.  As he addresses each of these, he makes it clear that avoiding sin and living righteously begins in the heart because we love God and desire to obey Him because we understand and appreciate His love for us.  Get your heart right with God, and obedience will follow.  Out of obedience based in love, will flow blessing and abundance and the fullness of life that Jesus promises. 

Proverbs 4:23 - Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life.