A Heart Condition

Hi everyone,
So I want to ask a simple question. What is the condition of your heart? Now I am not talking about the physical condition of your ticker but rather what is the condition of your spiritual heart? This past week I have had some circumstances that have caused me to step back and examine my heart. And some things aren't so pretty and squeaky clean as I would like to admit. I let my inner selfish nature take over in a few instances this week and God is faithfully forgiving me and drawing me closer to His heart yet again. I also have been really observing the world and the people around me lately and noting the different heart conditions that are out there. I am doing a Bible study with a couple of friends and we have been going through Romans 12 for the past few months. This is one of the chapters in the Bible that is jammed packed with life altering information that it requires much more thought than you ever imagined. I feel if one chapter could sum up what the condition of our heart should be, this one is it. Recently in this Bible study we have been asked three important questions: 1. Who Am I? 2. Where do I belong? 3. What am I supposed to do? Each one presents us with a question of Identity, Security, and Significance. Each one requires us to look deep into ourselves and question our very outlook on life. Many people never ask these questions because they feel as if the are too "deep" or relevant to every day mundane life, but honestly they are the questions that define your whole life. What you think about this life and about yourself in turn affects how you think about what you do, how you act, how you process things, how you view others, and ultimately what condition your heart is in. As fleshly human beings we are born with natural sinful selfish desires. We are all born with insecurities and weakness as well as we are with strengths and free will to change. It doesn't take long for our hearts to be tainted but it is possible for us to redeem them.
Now what I have noticed with people lately and myself included is that we all have an agenda. We have "built in" hardwired desires, needs, emotions, strengths and weaknesses. It is what we choose to do with those things that determine the condition of our heart. It determines the ambience of our lives. We live in a world that gratifies "YOU". YOU are always worth it, YOU should treat yourself because you deserve it, YOU should do this because he/she couldn't ever deserve YOU, have it YOUR way, if it feels good to YOU then do it. It is all about YOU, YOU, YOU! Allow me to share a verse: "For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think..." Romans 12:3 (ESV) As you can see the Bible is in contradiction to the all about ME attitude that the world seeks to ingrain in us from an early age and continues to every where we go on a daily basis. People using and abusing each other because they think they deserve to be satisfied. People using not so ethical means to become "successful" because they think they deserve it. People tearing other people down with their words because they think they are somehow superior. People living beyond their means because they think they are worth it all. We consume and consume and never pause to look back at the trail of broken hearts, friendships, marriages, careers, and homes we leave behind or perhaps we do and just fill ourselves with more junk to ease our consciences. We all are guilty of it to an extent and this week I learned how selfish I can be when I let go of God's hand even a little and turn to my own devices. My agenda was about me and you know what, it makes ME miserable and I think people, if they were really honest with themselves, would agree. It may feel good for a time, but I believe many people at one point or another feel the weight of their heart's attitude like a ball and chain. I believe many people deal with their identity and their insecurities so much in life that it eventually leaks out. It affects how they deal with themselves and with others.
Now what should our agenda really be? ""Do NOTHING from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Philippians 2:3 (emphasis mine) 

And back to Romans 12: "...present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual act of worship. (Vs. 1) 

These verses flip the whole world's mentality on its head. Our agenda should revolve around considering others more than ourselves and sacrifice instead of self-service. Instead of the let me get you to help me, it is let me help you, end of story. It is about serving God and others instead of serving ourselves. It is about worshipping Him not ourselves. Now because this does not come naturally as we all are born with a sinful nature to elevate ourselves we have to ask this question every time we face decisions, ever time we interact with someone. What is the condition or the agenda of my heart? Is it about how I can advance myself today, how I can impress the boss over Joe/Jill today, how I can get a compliment today, how I can make myself feel good at the expense of someone else's spouse or significant other, how I can get someone to give me something, how I can be successful? I should mention it is not wrong to want to better yourself and to want to make your boss happy they hired you, or that getting compliments is wrong. But we really have to question our motives and be totally and brutally honest with ourselves. It this just all about me? I have been watching lately how we as people jockey for position, hierarchy, and recognition in this life over each other at times. We want to prove ourselves to everyone. And honestly this isn't coming from a place of bettering ourselves for the benefit of others or the work place. It is to squelch our own insecurities and to please that inner desire to be praised for achievements. We view ourselves as better than others or in need of being more worthy than so and so when really, we all deal with many of the same issues and could learn so much more from just working together instead of against each other.

So how to we fix all this? How do heal our less than desirable heart condition? The first step is admitting that we have a problem. That we aren't so golden as we think we are. We need to stop worrying about ranting about other's problems and deal with our own. "...take the log out of your own eye..." Matthew 7:5 Only then will you be able to truly help others. You will never be perfect but you have to recognize that you can't ask someone else to do something that you wouldn't be willing to do yourself. Jesus didn't ask us to become living sacrifices for Him without it costing Him something and we all know how that story went. (Matthew 7) We need to come before a forgiving God and ask Him to cleanse us. "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." 1 John 1:9 And we need to remain in constant prayer throughout the day that God will work in our hearts and change them to an attitude of service and sacrifice to others. Because we all have our desires to be loved and seen as a person with a purpose in this life. But it starts by realizing that it isn't all about me. It isn't about how I can get the upper hand in every situation. Rather it is about, how I can show that you, God matter more than me today? That someone else matters more than me today? How can I sacrifice my wants for the sake of what someone else needs today? Even if that means I don't get a pat on the back, credit for my work, another $100 in my wallet, another win in my book or a plaque on the wall. When we choose to put someone above ourselves we gain something much greater. We gain true fulfillment, purpose, joy, satisfaction and our reward in heaven. Now we must understand that this not mean we allow ourselves to be walked over and cater to people who mean to harm us, but we need the heart that sees us all the same way. Sinners that are all equally undeserving of God's forgiveness but yet He extends it to us all. In the same way we need to extend that to others instead of shooting for our pedestal amongst the stars. What are our true motives and heart condition when it comes to life and others? How is our heart truly? What comes out of our mouths and actions on a weekly basis? Does it say how can I gain in this situation or how can I be of service? How can win or how can I help you so that we can win together? Because let me tell you nothing is worth seeing someone lose at life because of our selfish desires to be top dog. It kills me to see others do it and does that have the same affect in my soul when I fail too? It should because Christ didn't go to the cross for His own acclamation. He did it because He loved us that much even when we were dirty, even when our sins nailed Him there. What state is our heart in? Do we love that much to give up our own will to be a vessel for God's work? It has to start with the heart. 

"The good person out of the good treasure of his heart produces good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure produces evil, for out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks." Luke 6:45 (ESV)