Evil Hearts
Genesis 6:5
“And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.”
Genesis 8:21
“And the Lord smelled a sweet savour; and the Lord said in his heart, I will not again curse the ground any more for man's sake; for the imagination of man's heart is evil from his youth; neither will I again smite any more every thing living, as I have done.”
Jeremiah 17:9
“The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?”
Matthew 15:18-19
“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, blasphemies.”
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I’ve decided to take a little break from the writings of the New Testament. I’ve had a hankering to go back to the beginning and read the Pentateuch. After that I’ll go back and continue where I left off.
Every time without fail, when I read Genesis I’m amazed at how quickly everything starts to unravel. I mean, it happens with alarming rapidity. You almost have to shake your head to come to grips with what transpires.
How could it all happen so quickly? But even more so, how can it keep on escalating right up until the very end of God’s plan for His creation?
Evil hearts, that’s how.
I wish I had better news for you but … the heart of man (your heart) is a mess. It’s evil. It might get dressed up to look presentable but in the end it’s a filthy, unknowable mass of pulsating disaster.
I read a fair amount about WW II. I’m re-reading the book: Albert Speer: His Battle With The Truth. The scope of the book goes further than just dealing with Albert Speer. Since Speer was so integral to Hitler from the earliest years, his life is a fascinating look into the development (or should I say, degradation) of a cultured people into brutal barbarianism.
And here’s the thing.
It happened with alarming speed in a really short period of time. It almost seems like (and I’m sure it’s the case) the seeds of what took place were already long rooted in the hearts of these upright, intelligent, refined, genteel German folks. It just never had such an opportunity to be displayed for what it (the heart) was truly capable of doing.
Now, the tendency is to sort of say something like … well, that was then and we’re not like that. But that’s not what Scripture says. It’s all a matter of how you define a wicked, evil heart. It’s not always the mass murder of millions of people. It could be something like what we’re all familiar with and, in many ways, view as acceptable.
Sort of like the things Yeshua said in Matthew 15, right? — “Evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies.”
You might even think that’s all bad stuff but conclude it’s not referring to the excesses of Hitler’s Germany. But, let me ask you this.
Where, and how, does it all get started?
Let me tell you.
Evil thoughts and evil deeds proceed from the hidden, unseen confines of a heart which no one can see or even know … except God Himself.
That’s why God took such drastic measures when He wiped out His creation with a cataclysmic flood. It seems like this heart thing is a pretty big deal with God. Perhaps we should pay a little more attention to it, don’t you think?
I trow so.
Therefore …
How so?
The Bible gives us some basics by which we can remain aware and vigilant concerning the true and present condition of our heart.
Here are a few I’ve picked out.
*Don’t trust it. “He that trusteth in his own heart is a fool: but whoso walketh wisely, he shall be delivered.” Proverbs 28:26
*Protect it. “Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life.” Proverbs 4:23
*Choose a course for it. “Hear thou, my son, and be wise, and guide thine heart in the way.” Proverbs 23:19
*Turn it over to God for safe keeping. “Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.” Psalm 139:23-24
It wouldn’t hurt to commit these verses to memory. To learn them by heart. That will help to keep them in the forefront of your mind. Maybe choose one you could incorporate into your time of devotion and prayer with God in His Word.
And finally,
Never, ever loose sight of how deceitful and desperately wicked that old heart of yours really is. And if you’re ever in doubt just go back to Genesis and see yourself in the narrative. Would you have been the “Noah” that God would have saved?
Hmm. Not sure I like thinking about that myself.
Me thinks my heart needs some more washing with the pure water of God’s Word.
Care to join me?