The State of the Heart

First, a happy Valentine's Day to all lovers out there. Valentine's truly about the heart. Every lover's heart. Of course, only God knows the heart best. Nevertheless it is for one's own growth that reflections of what’s within the heart that God desires, such that we cultivate a heart that pursues after God’s heart.

Here’s one check this Valentine's Day! Are we celebrating it for ourself or for the other person?

There is a tendency towards self-centeredness and even selfishness. Though the twin heads of such a serpent is not always apparent, yet it lurks in the tall grass, out of sight but it can at a moment slither within striking distance to catch a prey. It lurks in every love relationship. Are you into Valentine's to get something from the other person?

Let's measure love from God's perspective.

Anything that falls below the pure qualities of God is, by definition, sin. So, while I may be doing something that is 99% good and noble, but yet has that 1 % of impure motives in the act of doing good, it becomes sin! At any moment when we are selflessly giving of ourselves to help and bless others, the self threatens to break into that environment and assert itself. All it takes is one fleeting thought and the purity of our efforts is tainted.

Surely then, you might argue, in this case, all the good we do are tainted, for could ever be a hundred percent pure in motives, even in the acts of doing good and in loving someone! And that is precisely the point. Jesus said it well - No one is good except God. Our good works at the very best are like filthy rags that we use to wipe the faces of those who are covered with soot and grime. Our love for another person, might in fact have mixed motives too, some noble, others are not.

That is why our good works can never earn us any acceptance from God. They’re all contaminated. In any case, we do good works not to gain God’s acceptance but as our way of appreciating God for accepting us. God accepts us because of Jesus Christ, because of His death upon the cross as a payment for our penalty of sin.

In the same way, our love for another person is not in order to gain acceptance from that person. The purest love is unconditional love, loving without expecting anything in return. And that's tough - because we do expect in return.

So I’ve learned to serve and love others because that is my act of worship to God, and in the process of serving God, I must guard my heart from wrong motives, and from self-will. My heart can subtly tread out of alignment with God’s will and heart. So it is not just about the acts of goodness, but the intents and the motives at the core of such acts.

Happy Valentine's Day!

God spoke to Cain: “Why this tantrum? Why the sulking? If you do well, won’t you be accepted? And if you don’t do well, sin is lying in wait for you, ready to pounce; it’s out to get you, you’ve got to master it.” Genesis 4:7 (The Message)