May 6th, 2022

Mind Vs. Heart

Jeremiah 17:10 NIV

"I the Lord search the heart and examine the mind, to reward each person according to their conduct, according to what their deeds deserve."

      As kids, my friends and I used to pretend we had superpowers. One friend had the power to be invisible. One had super speed. One even could read minds. Back then, I used to imagine what it would be like to read someone's mind. Of course, as a child, this brought up an array of opportunities in your life. You could find out what you were getting for your birthday. You could tell if the teacher were about to call on you to read. You would even know what your friends were thinking. However, as an adult, I don't think that would be a superpower I would enjoy. The thought process of an adult can be rather complicated and even messy. People are not always who they claim to be, thus their thoughts would not match the mask that they put on. Having the ability to read one's mind could potentially cause the mind reader heartache in the end. Negative thoughts, deceit, trauma, and even ill intentions are all things that come to mind when I think of what it would be like to read another human being's mind.

      What a blessing it is that we cannot read minds, am I right? God, on the other hand, can. The Hebrew word "kilyoht," which means "kidneys," is the same term used to define the mind or inmost being. The scripture tells us that, not only does God know what our thought's consist of, but according to some Bible translations He also tests what's on our hearts. While healthy kidneys obtain the role of purifying our blood by removing waste from it, our hearts pump that blood throughout our body. When our hearts are tested, God can see if the blood running through our veins is pure. In other words, He's checking to see if we will act on our thoughts. Now, we're only human, so we're bound to occasionally have impure thoughts cross our minds. However, it is through the process of filtering out these thoughts that our hearts urge us not to act on them. God knows where our motives lie. He knows how we all tick. But if we uphold ourselves to the standards of righteousness and act on deeds that reflect a Christ-like image, we will see rich rewards in Heaven. 

I encourage you to deeply think about where your thoughts stand in comparison to your heart. Do they align with each other? And does the pair align with God's word? If not, then what needs to be done to purify your motives?