Purity of Heart

When you do things, why do you do them? What is your motivation? When you give to your church, what is happening in your heart? For some, it is a matter of duty. To others, a matter of power and position. And the goal should be "giving out of love", no matter what the action. When you speak to someone, why do you say what you say/. What is your motivation? Is it to influence, tear down, or belittle? To be pure in your motives is a good thing, but many times being that way has a very bad result for you, because other people who are not being pure in their ways use you for their own good and advancement. Why do you do what you do?

Purity (def) - freedom from adulteration or contamination

Proverbs 30:⁵ Every word of God is pure; He is a shield to those who take refuge in Him. ⁶ Do not add to His words. Or He will rebuke you, and you will be proved a liar. I believe there is a possibility we are adding some of our words to His Word, and the end result is impure truth. When the priests didn't like some of the restrictions in the Law of Moses, they would put their "religious-sounding spin" on it. It goes farther and farther from the purity of what God was saying, and it becomes impure in every form. What do we say and live by that is our own opinion instead of God's pure words? To adulterate something is to make it impure, and that is best seen in adultery in marriage. Our standard for marriage has taken a major hit by the world's way of looking at it. How far will this go downward? There is no end in sight, so what do we do? We make a firm commitment to honor God's pure Word and follow it completely and without human additions.

There would be a lot fewer conflicts if we thought about what we said before we said it and ran it through God's word filter. Paul wrote the following words to the church in Colossae. Colossians 4:⁶ Your speech must always be with grace, as though seasoned with salt, so that you will know how you should respond to each person. There goes the F word and the Christian alternative frickin. Oh my. Now you won't be able to be cool when you emphasize a point!! Lol. Purity of heart compels us to have purity in speech, and all that purity comes from God!

Here is what we can do. We can set the standard by living that standard ourselves and living it from a pure heart and not a judgmental one. Judging others has never drawn anybody closer to God, and elevating ourselves further taints the process of God's grace, so don't do it. James 4:Humble yourselves in the presence of the Lord, and He will exalt you.

The Psalmist came to this conclusion about what needed to happen to them. Psalm 139:²³ Search me, God, and know my heart; Put me to the test and know my anxious thoughts;

²⁴ And see if there is any hurtful way in me, And lead me in the everlasting way.

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David Warren