Read today’s texts first: Proverbs 4-6; Romans 8
Knowing that our eyes are the windows to the soul,
there are times we need to pull the shades.
We often try to modify behaviour from the outside in. Within correctional facilities, rehab centres, even our own homes, we reward good behaviour and punish bad. But trying to bring about conformation from the outside can harden the heart, creating attitudes of legalism and judgmentalism. Instead, Romans calls for a transformation that can only happen from the inside out (Rom. 12:2). That’s the only way we can daily “walk in the Spirit” the way Paul describes in our NT reading today.
To respond to the gentle nudgings of the Holy Spirit, we must keep our hearts soft. Signs of a soft heart are humility, dependence on God, and a readiness to repent. Ironically, Solomon, who once had such a soft heart, hardened his through compromise. Again, he should have heeded his wise words: Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life. Put away perversity from your mouth; keep corrupt talk far from your lips. Let your eyes look straight ahead, fix your gaze directly before you. Make level paths for your feet and take only ways that are firm. Do not swerve to the right or the left; keep your foot from evil (4:23-27).
Solomon correctly described the best way, the only lasting way, to modify behaviour - from the inside out, from heart to mouth to eyes to feet. If you keep your heart pure, your words will reflect that purity. Knowing that our eyes are the windows to the soul, there are times we need to pull the shades. We can’t allow our heart to be contaminated by the outside world. If we maintain our internal compass we won’t stray from the center of the straight and narrow. No dead ends, no detours, no soft shoulders, no sudden drop-offs!
“Lord, I need to guard my heart every day to keep it soft and open to You. Melt me, mold me, fill me, use me, Spirit of the Living God, fall fresh on me.”
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