Actions, even wildly impulsive ones, don’t happen in a vacuum.
“As water reflects the face, so one’s life reflects the heart.” (Proverbs 27:19). To live a better life, we must work on the inside “stuff.” We must examine (and improve!) the rhythms of the head and the heart which proceed everything we say and do.
Every act is connected to our KNOWLEDGE, which can be understood as our personal understanding about what is good vs. evil, true vs. false, wise vs. foolish, beautiful vs. ugly. Everyone has ideas about these things—and we’re confident we are right!
You open the fridge and delightfully discover the last piece of leftover chocolate cake has survived the day and it’s yours to claim, after all, you had a terrible day and deserve some comfort food. Cake is good, chocolate cake is better! You barely need to think about it, you know what is good, true, wise, and beautiful!
Internally, we also have the capacity for WISDOM, which is the application of our knowledge to a situation to predict the outcomes or results.
You devour the chocolate cake, for there is no downside! As predicted, you thoroughly enjoyed every bite.
However, your wisdom was lacking: the cake was simply a means to an end. You wanted some comfort, and the cake didn’t deliver. It failed to satisfy! To make things worse, you forgot that you’ve been on a reduced carb diet for months. Now the gluten is surging through your system like a satanic roller coaster. The glucose is exploding like a super nova all across your body. You nearly double over in pain from the system shock.
Our actions are also connected to our DESIRES and MOTIVATIONS. The first is WHAT you want, the second is WHY you want it.
It’s possible to want the wrong things (chocolate cake) for the wrong reasons (it’ll comfort me).
It’s also possible to want the right things (to cope with a difficult day) for the wrong reasons (I need to avoid pain tomorrow).
Naturally, the ideal is that we would want the right things (to cope) for the right reasons (to trust God more).
To make matters more complicated, we often have conflicting drives. Why do I want to deliver a good sermon? So that people grow closer to God? Or do I want them to like me more? Is it a little of both? There are many rooms in the human heart.
Finally, our actions are also shaped by our FEELINGS (or attitude). In many ways, our emotions trump every other part of the soul. Anger, sadness, jealousy, bitterness … all of these things will weaken the other driving factors in our soul.
Examine your words and deeds through these lenses:
- KNOWLEDGE: what did I believe to be good, true, wise, or beautiful?
- WISDOM: did I accurately predict all the results/consequences?
- DESIRE: what did I want?
- MOTIVE: why did I want it?
- FEELINGS: what was my attitude and how did it make an impact?
As you examine your life, I encourage you to do so with a pen and a notebook. The words you write will never be a perfect reflection of what’s happening on the inside. Far from it! However, getting something out of your head and onto paper slows down your thoughts. The process becomes a mirror and microscope that will help you understand, and adjust, your heart.
Dig deeper, on your own:
Let us examine our ways and test them, and let us return to the LORD. (Lamentations 3:40)
It is not good to have zeal without knowledge, nor to be hasty and miss the way. (Proverbs 19:2)
For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of. A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in him, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in him. (Matthew 12:34–35)
Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you—unless, of course, you fail the test? (2 Corinthians 13:5)
In your anger do not sin; when you are on your beds, search your hearts and be silent. (Psalm 4:4)
“Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and dish, and then the outside also will be clean. (Matthew 23:25-26)
