Proverbs 21:2. Every way of a man is right in his own eyes, but the Lord weighs the heart.
Today’s proverb says that the Lord God weighs our heart. Or we might say that the Lord judges our hearts. He knows our hearts better than we do. Have you ever been asked by someone, why you did something, and you genuinely said, I don’t know?
Jeremiah lamented, the heart is desperately sick, who can know it?
Well God knows it. God knows why we do everything that we do. He knows what we love and what we hate. He knows our deepest thoughts and attitudes. He knows our secrets. He knows all our dreams and fears. God weighs our hearts.
This, of course, is good news. Why? Because of the first part of the proverb – every way of a man is right in his own eyes. Solomon is warning us that we often think something is right, but it isn’t. We often think that what we are doing is justified, but it’s not. We say, “I deserve it,” or, “just this once.” But you don’t really deserve anything, do you? And “just this once,” come on, not even you believe this.
We live in a time of extreme individualism and radical freedom. No one should be able to tell you what to do (of course, ironically, someone is telling you this). But this world view fails to see that we are all so limited in our understanding of everything, including our own selves. We are self-deceived. We are deficient in our self-evaluation. We are biased. Tossed by every wind of doctrine. We are near-sighted naval gazers. In our own eyes everything we do is right.
But this doesn’t have to be the case. God has given us a brand new heart in Christ. And that changes everything.
Ezekiel 36:2. “I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.”
For the person in Christ, the heart is not just weighed and judged, it is gloriously changed, renewed, quickened, transformed. From stone to flesh. From sick to healthy. From evil to good. From natural to spiritual. In Christ, the question isn’t, do I have the new heart (you do)? The question is, do I know how to use it? Or do I simply run back to the habitual ways of my old heart?
Your new heart in Christ is a miracle. A miracle of the mercy and grace of God. Living from the new heart is supernatural, but possible. It all begins with faith. Faith in the glorious gift of God the Holy Spirit filling your new heart with his everlasting love. Such faith in the gospel literally transforms your heart day by day. It changes your thinking. It renews your mind.
By faith we no longer want to do what is right in our own eyes, at least not our fleshly eyes. We want to do what is right. Period. We want to live from the heart and mind of Christ. If you can’t honestly say this, then ask yourself, do I have the new heart? Or am I still hell bent (literally) on doing whatever I want, with no regard for the heart of Jesus?
You: Where can you see yourself doing what is right in your own eyes lately?
You in Christ: Union with Christ has given you a new heart? Do you believe this?
Christ in you: Where can you see yourself living from the new heart instead of the old heart?
Pray: Father, keep weighing my heart. Root out old ways of selfish deception.Let the new way of Christ take hold in me by your grace. Amen.
To Live is Christ 