Jesus said blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. And the book of Proverbs says keep your heart with all diligence, for out of it are the issues of life. Everything there is in life comes out of your heart. If you have a pure heart you will have a pure life. And if your heart is impure your life will be impure. That’s an unalterable law that governs all human conduct.
And remember, what you put into your heart determines the course of your life. You cannot have the wrong thing in your heart and live right. And, you cannot have the right thing in your heart and live wrong. So what you have in your heart determines the course of your life.
While I was a teacher in Africa, in Kenya, I got interested in various African dialects, including one called Luragooli, which is spoken by the Maragoli people. I was the principal of a college for training African teachers. One day I walked into the dormitory of some of the students and in the Luragooli language I saw Proverbs 4:23 up in their language. It said, and their language was a little more simple:
“Guard your heart with all your strength, for everything there is in life comes out of it.”
I have never forgotten that. Everything there is in life comes out of your heart. If you want a good life, have a good heart, have a pure heart, have a clean heart. And if you defile yourself, ultimately you are the one that will suffer the most. Obeying the Bible is not really to be very pious, it’s to have common sense. Because, it works. Continuing with 2 Corinthians 6, God says:
“I will be a Father to you, and you shall be my sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty.”
God does not offer to be unconditionally Father to anybody who wants it. He says I’ll be a Father if you meet my conditions.
And then Paul adds “therefore” at the beginning of chapter 7. And you’ve probably heard me say: if you find a therefore in the Bible you need to ask what it’s there for. And this therefore is because of the previous two verses.
“Therefore, having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit...”
Some things God does for us and some things we have to do for ourselves. There are many aspects of holiness which only God can do. But here is something which is our responsibility to do.
I think most of us have a pretty clear idea of some of what’s entailed by “filthiness of the flesh”. Sexual immorality, drunkenness, anger, swearing. But what about filthiness of the spirit? Every form of contact with the occult is filthiness of the spirit. Many Christians today often unknowingly are involved in the occult. Many Christians read horoscopes. But let me tell you that if you lived in Israel under the law of Moses and you read horoscopes, you would have been put to death. That’s God’s estimate of it.
Dear Father, what a blessing that I may call You ‘Father’. I’m so grateful that You have sought me, and gave me the precious gift of faith to become Your child. I pray, Lord, that You’ll help me to keep my heart clean and pure, and to stay away from all forms of filthiness. Show me what You expect me to do, and what You will do for me. In Jesus’ Name, amen.
