By T. M. Moore|Published Date: August 02, 2010
Keep an eye on your affections.
“For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness. All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person.”
--Mark 7:1, 22
Inside-outside-in
Spiritual growth typically occurs from the inside-out. That is, as we work to be renewed in the various elements of the soul – heart, mind, and conscience – these, in turn begin to direct our bodily members in the paths of righteousness. Outwardly, in our practices, we reflect the newness of life that Christ is at work within us to accomplish as we experience the transforming power of God to renew our thought life, affections, and values.
At the same time, as we, in the outer person, put those changes into practice, our new way of walking reinforces and strengthens what God has wrought within, so that, while we are changed from the inside-out, we reinforce that change through outside-in obedience.
The heart of spiritual growth
When it comes to the renewal of our souls, the Scriptures make it plain that the heart is the heart of the matter, the “wellspring” of all our existence, as Jonathan Edwards put it. Jesus tells us as much in the passage cited above – where we see that our thoughts and values (mind and conscience) are subordinated to whatever is in our hearts, and our hearts then, when they are corrupt, lead to defiled practices.
Jesus is doing nothing more than echoing the wisdom of the Old Testament, which counsels us to “Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life” (Prov. 4:23).
Maintaining a continuous watch over our hearts, and working hard to ensure that the affections that take root there are such as are pleasing to God, are keys to real spiritual growth and renewal. How do we accomplish this? Let me suggest five aspects of a healthy approach to improving our hearts.
First, don’t be deceived into thinking that you know your heart perfectly. Jeremiah reminds us that the heart is deceitful and desperately wicked; he asks, “Who can know it?” (Jer. 17:5) The point is that, while we may be going along thinking everything is just fine in our attitudes, aspirations, hopes, feelings, and desires, rot and wickedness may have already set in, and we aren’t able to see it.
The point is thus not to become complacent about our hearts, or to go on “cruise control” where they are concerned. We need to have in place disciplines for continually monitoring our affections, such as I outline below.
Second, realize that only the Spirit of God is able to show you what’s really in your heart. We need to make time each day for the Spirit to search us, to the very depths of our hearts (Ps. 139:23, 24; 1 Cor. 2:10). Make time for silent “listening” in your prayers, waiting upon the Lord as He brings to mind people, situations, thoughts, feelings, and so forth and puts them before you while He inspects them.
The Spirit is able to convict us of any sin in our lives, as well as what we need to do in order to redress any sinful situations, tendencies, or practices (Jn. 16:8-11). But we must listen in silence while He explores the depths of our souls and brings to our attention what He discovers there.
Third, pay close attention from your heart to the Word of God when it speaks of affections. When Jesus says that evil thoughts emanate from our hearts, pause to reflect and ask the Lord, “Are any evil thoughts huddling in my heart, O Lord? Show them to me now.” Or if the Scripture commands us to “hate evil”, love our enemies, desire only the noblest thoughts and ideas, or any other affection, don’t let that exhortation or instruction pass without reflection. Look into the mirror of Scripture as it speaks about matters of the heart, and see how your own heart is reflected in the light of what God is revealing there.
Too often we read the Word for intellectual content – ideas, teachings, doctrines, insights, and so forth – and that’s all well and good. But we also need to pay careful attention – “all vigilance” – whenever the Word is speaking about the heart, and to linger over that Word until God confirms its insight one way or another with respect to our souls.
Fourth, listen to those who love you when they question the condition of your heart. No, they can’t know you perfectly, and may even be wrong about what they think they observe. But they know their own hearts well enough to recognize hurtful or unhelpful affections; and they love us enough to be willing to risk a fight in order to help us grow in the grace of the Lord.
It is not easy being confronted about what’s in our hearts; if we can’t know it well, we reason, why should this person think he can? But we need to allow those who love us to offer their observations, and we need to listen when they do, lest our hearts become hardened and corrupt.
Finally, study the Scriptures concerning affections. Learn what they are, how they function, when they are pleasing to God and when not, and seek to let the teaching of Scripture shape the contours of your own heart.
Affections are typically of two kinds, as Edwards explained: those that attract us (love, desire, longing, sympathy, compassion, joy, hope, etc.) and those that repulse us (fear, hatred, anger, disgust, revulsion, etc.). Each has its own place in the proper functioning of the soul. But this is true only when those affections are properly focused. So it is improper to hate our neighbor, but altogether holy to hate sin. It is good to love the Lord, but wrong to delight in or be indifferent to injustice.
Moreover, not only must we understand the full range of affections and learn to focus them on the right objects, but we must also work hard to achieve the proper intensity of focus for our affections. It is good to love the Lord; it is best to love Him with all our heart.
As the Spirit searches us and the Word teaches us, we can take up the challenge of improving our affections and thus expect to grow in the grace and knowledge of the Lord.
This monitoring and improving the heart is not something we may accomplish “by-the-bye” (as Edwards would say); it requires “all vigilance” and the daily use of such disciplines as I have outlined above. The rewards of growing in our affections are very great: clear thinking, right priorities and values, good works of righteousness, and the peace and joy of knowing that our lives are pleasing to God and beneficial to our neighbors.
Give all vigilance to this high calling, and watch what God can do to improve your heart, and everything else in your life (Phil. 2:12, 13).
For more insight to this subject, get the book, Renovation of the Heart, by Dallas Willard, from our online store. Or read the article, “The Enduring Revolution: The Battle to Change the Human Heart,” by Charles Colson.
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