AS HE THINKS IN HIS HEART
PROVERBS 23:6-8
PROVERBS 23:6-8 NKJ
6 Do not eat the bread of a miser,
Nor desire his delicacies;
7 For as he thinks in his heart, so is he.
"Eat and drink!" he says to you,
But his heart is not with you.
8 The morsel you have eaten, you will vomit up,
And waste your pleasant words.
This proverb is a warning about people whose heart is not with you. I can't say it's always easy to discern, especially if their words are good. This is just another reason we must rely on the Holy Spirit to help us know.
As someone thinks in their heart. So much is in the Bible about the heart. How someone "sees" things on the inside is who they really are.
I have been surprised over the years by people who seemed to be so sweet and nice. Only to have them turn and bite me. Their heart never was with me and, in some cases, totally against me.
So what then shall we do? Trust no one? Live constantly on guard with people?
I believe the best rule of thumb here is to pay closer attention to what people do than what they say. If they are mean and unkind to the server in the restaurant then regardless of what they say to you, they are not a nice person.
As a pastor, I can not only pay attention to how people treat me but how they treat other people. How about people who are deemed less important?
What's in the heart will eventually be seen because that's who we really are.
APPLICATION:
As believers, we want to have a heart that loves God and loves people. So this is a constant work in progress, making changes and adjustments in our hearts. This is why scripture is so important. It has the ability to reveal our hearts and then help us make the change. So regardless of where you are on the "heart chart," you can keep changing and keep growing and keep becoming more like Jesus. That's the kind of heart we want, and the kind of heart people can trust.
PRAYER:
Dear Lord, help me make the adjustments to my heart that need to happen. I desire to be more like Jesus at heart.