The Holy Scripture speaks clearly about how God looks into the heart of people. He looks into our hearts and not in our outward appearances. But the LORD said to him, “Pay no attention to how tall and handsome he is. I have rejected him, because I do not judge as people judge. They look at the outward appearance, but I look at the heart.” (1 Samuel 16:7)
People look in the outside appearance of a person. We measure people through the face and looks and we judge a book according to its cover. God looks differently. God, being the almighty one, who knows everything and sees everything, knows the contents of our hearts and minds. He sees into our hearts and not through our faces. Jer 17:10 I the LORD search the heart, I try the reins, even to give every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings.
According to Strongs Hebrew and Greek Dictionaries, the heart is a translation from the word lêb, which came from the word lebab (interior organ), and refers to our feelings, thoughts, and knowledge. The heart doesn’t only mean a physical internal organ, it also pertains to the inner personality responsible for what we feel, what we think and what we learn.
God is known as the “Knower of the Hearts” (Acts 1:24). This is one of the attributes of God and to Him only can this trait be called. And since He knows the hearts and minds of every one, is there anything that we can hide from Him? Heb 4:13 No creature can hide from God. Everything is uncovered and exposed for him to see. We must answer to him.
The logic is simple, the only one who knows what’s inside us is ourselves also, how can God judge people if everything is not exposed to Him?
Is there a deeper reason why God looks into the hearts of people?
People can fake its appearance. It means, we can look good, look holy, and look obedient to anyone. There are people who are only proud of the outward character and care less about their inward traits. (2 Cor. 5:12) Apostle Paul also says holiness has an outward appearance, we can look beautiful and holy in the eyes of people. (2 Tim.3:5) A person can also show that he has the form of the knowledge and truth. (Romans 2:20)
The Holy Scripture calls it hypocrisy. People can show a different personality on the outside. The origin of this trait is the devil. He deceived Adam and Eve by showing that he care about them. This trait is also evident to false teachers and prophets for the purpose of deceiving people.
Mat 7:15-16 ”Be on your guard against false prophets; they come to you looking like sheep on the outside, but on the inside they are really like wild wolves. You will know them by what they do.”
Hipocrisy is also the reason why He rebuked the Pharisees and the Scribes. They serve God in the temple but the content of their hearts are not righteous in the sight of God.
Mat 23:27-28 “How terrible for you, teachers of the Law and Pharisees! You hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look fine on the outside but are full of bones and decaying corpses on the inside. In the same way, on the outside you appear good to everybody, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and sins.”
The outward appearance can be faked, but not the heart inside it. The heart shows the real us. It is our inner personality, it pertains to how we feel, act, speak and think. The heart shows the real you and me. And whatever it shows, it is the real us. We can’t cover it because it will always show. Pro 27:19 It is your own face that you see reflected in the water and it is your own self that you see in your heart.
This is the reason why we can’t judge on the outward appearance of a person. Justice has a symbol. It is a lady covered with a scurf. Her eyes could not see and only her ears can hear.
Jesus says, “Judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgment.” (John 7:24)
What do we need to learn more?
James says, “Come near to God, and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners! Purify your hearts, you hypocrites!” (James 4:8)
Sanctification is done by separating ourselves from the world, and consecrate ourselves to God: this is the true notion of sanctification. We have often seen that to sanctify signifies to separate a thing or person from profane or common use, and consecrate it or him to God.
The person or thing thus consecrated or separated is considered to be holy, and to be God’s property; and then God hallows it to himself.
There are, therefore, two things implied in a man’s sanctification:
1. That he separates himself from evil ways and evil companions, and devotes himself to God.
2. That God separates guilt from his conscience, and sin from his soul, and thus makes him internally and externally holy.
Apostle Peter explains,
1Pe 1:22-23 “Love each other with a warm love that comes from the heart. After all, you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth. As a result you have a sincere love for each other. You have been born again, not from a seed that can be destroyed, but through God’s everlasting word that can’t be destroyed.”
Our hearts get sick too
The physical heart, if not taken care of can get sick too. One of the busiest and important internal organ is the physical heart. Its duty is to pump blood enriched with oxygen to every living cell of our body. To keep the heart from doing that, it needs to beat in the entire life span of a person. When heart stops to beat, the person also dies.
The heart pumps about 80,000 to 100,000 times in a day with almost 2,000 gallons of blood. If we live at the age of 70 to 90 years old, the heart is said to have pumped 2 to 3 billion times, with almost 50 to 65 million gallons of blood.
If we don’t take care of our hearts well, it can get sick too. There are many programs now in the society to give us awareness regarding the proper care of our heart. Getting rid of smoking and drinking, and proper nutrition plus regular exercise can help in the proper care of the heart.
The inner personality, referring also to the heart can get sick too.
If the physical heart is non-stop in pumping blood in all the parts of the body, the heart or the inner character is also busy in many things. Ecc 2:23 For all his days are sorrows, and his travail grief; yea, his heart taketh not rest in the night.
The inner personality, also known as our heart is responsible in many things that we do. Like its definition, what ever we feel, think and knowledge we possess, the heart is responsible for all of them. When we worry, the heart never rests.
Pro 12:25 Heaviness in the heart of man maketh it stoop: The heaviness mentioned here are all the worries, problems and sufferings that we feel. When we worry too much, the physical body is also affected.
But not all worries are caused by problems and sufferings. Sometimes, the sins we commit become our bigger worries. Psa 41:6 If one comes to see me, deceit is in his heart; he keeps a store of evil, which he makes public in every place.
And these worries that we feel are causing the heart to get sick.
What happens to people who has heart problems?
Ecc 9:3 This is evil in all things which are done under the sun: that there is one fate for all, and the hearts of the sons of men are full of evil; while they have life their hearts are foolish, and after that–to the dead. God saw evil in the hearts of many men. Eventually all of them will die.
What do we need to do to escape this death?
Pro 4:23 Guard your heart more than anything else, because the source of your life flows from it. The heart is life, this is what counts to God. God always look into our hearts and if we don’t guard it and take care of it, how can we be worthy in the sight of God? The outward appearance will change, and the beauty of it will fade in due time, but the beauty of the heart will stay there forever and inside it flows the life within us.
Instead of occupying our hearts with worries, fill it out with joy. Servants of God fill their hearts with the joy of having the word of God with them. They meditate on it daily, which gives them life, light and happiness. Pro 17:22 A joyful heart is good medicine, but depression drains one’s strength.
Always remember that the heart shows the real character we have in the sight of others and of God. Whatever our hearts say, think, plan or do, it shows the inner self, which we cannot fake.
Pro 15:13-15 A glad heart makes a shining face, but by the sorrow of the heart the spirit is broken. The heart of the man of good sense goes in search of knowledge, but foolish things are the food of the unwise. All the days of the troubled are evil; but he whose heart is glad has an unending feast.
If we want a healthy heart, an inner character that is righteous before God, then we have to turn away from everything that will endanger it, from sins and wickedness. Ecc 11:10 So put away trouble from your heart, and sorrow from your flesh; because the early years and the best years are to no purpose.
If we serve God and do His commands, our hearts will live in joy and peace. We serve God with all our heart, mind and soul. And God will be glad if we do it we a worry free heart. We do this by casting out everything to Him that takes care of us, God. From there, we can always enhance or improve our relationship with Him.
Always remember, 1Ti 1:5 The goal of this instruction is love that flows from a pure heart, from a clear conscience, and from a sincere faith.
