cardio (part 2): heart begets behavior

(continued from cardio part 1)

You might be thinking, as it is our natural tendency to do (1 Samuel 16:7), Wait! Doesn’t that stuff matter though? Of course it is important. I mean if we weren’t chastened by a socially expected behavior then we would have Christians rampaging with license to do anything they wanted, assuring themselves that God isn’t concerned with the fact that they are womanizers, have regular fits of rage in public squares, or just plain cruel to people. Behavior naturally follows suit of whatever it is that resides in your heart to begin with. If you allow bitterness into your heart, the behavior of unforgiveness is the sure to emerge. If you allow your heart to house lust, you’re going to eventually see a behavior change. Lust in your heart will lead to lust in your actions.

We cannot get around this obvious relationship between our heart and our behavior. Why then am I suggesting that we not make these good, upright behaviors our priority? Because behavior does not beget heart. Heart begets behavior. We cannot change from the outside in. That is impossible. We must change from the inside out. Jesus is not content with the temporary solution of managing our outward self to give off the impression that our inward self is just as dazzling. We can work the entirety of our life to make all the right decisions, exude all the behaviors attributed to the godly, and even look the part of someone truly devoted to Him, and still have the most shallow of affections toward Him. All that working from the outside in accomplishes is fooling everyone around you into believing that you are an über Christian. And that does absolutely nothing for God. Again, He is after your heart.