Let me begin by talking about God, and specifically some of the things that He hates. Yes, although He passionately loves us, He hates many of the things that we do. King Solomon identifies seven things that God hates including:

“…a proud look, a lying tongue, a wicked heart, violent hands, mischievous feet, a false witness, and one who promotes dissention” (Prov. 6:16-19).

Of course, there are other “sins” that God hates, but all of the above work together to destroy human relationships, bringing turmoil to a society that longs for peace and justice. We have seen all of these, and more, at work in recent days.

So, what’s the problem? In one of His many encounters with the religious leaders of His day, Jesus condemned them for their prideful participation in creating division, and He actually “offended” them when He pinpointed the real source of their problem:

“The things that proceed out of the mouth come from the heart, and those defile a man. For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, slanders. These are the things that defile a man…” (Mt. 15:18-20).

You may not realize this, but Jesus was just clarifying what had already been revealed on many occasions in the Old Testament. For example, the Prophet Jeremiah said,

“The heart is more deceitful than all else and is desperately sick; Who can understand it? I, the LORD, search the heart” (Jer. 17:9).

And then King David shared in the Psalms that, “God knows the secrets of our hearts” (Ps. 44:21).

All well and good – We can all acknowledge the fact that God knows the secrets of our hearts. He alone can see what others cannot see, and He even sees what we ourselves cannot see.

Let me return to the question that frames the title of this blog: “What can  I do?” But first, I need to ask a more searching question, “Do you even care about what’s in your heart?” I hope you do, because God looks at the heart, and what comes out of the heart, whether good or evil, not only affects those around us, but also our relationship with God.

So, if we really care about what’s in our heart, then the first thing we must do is to ask God to reveal  “hidden” things that are hard, if not impossible, for us to identify. There may be biases and prejudices that we may not be aware of. What God reveals may not be pretty, and we may not like what bubbles to the surface. But it will take both humility and courage to ask God to expose the thoughts and intentions of the heart. David did, and here is how he framed his request,

“Search me O God and know my heart; Try me and know my anxious thoughts; and see if there is any hurtful way in me, and lead me in the everlasting way” (Ps. 139:23-24).

But the request for God to search our hearts is just the beginning. If there are any areas of immorality, indifference, prejudice, or injustice that show up, then we need to deal with it. But how? King David provides some answers after his affair with Bathsheba and the attempted cover-up were exposed. David repented, asking God to, “Create in me a clean heart, O God” (Ps. 51:10). Notice that this “clean heart” needs to be “created” by God, and that’s something only He can do, and He does it in response to repentance and faith.

And once we deal with the heart issue, then we need to ask God another very probing question. When the Apostle Paul was giving his defense before the Jews, he shared what had happened to him on the road to Damascus after Jesus identified Himself as the One speaking to him. Paul asked, “What shall I do, Lord?” And Jesus answered, “Arise and go to Damascus and then I will show you what has been appointed for you to do” (Acts 22:10).

Once we allow God to deal with our hearts, we need to arise and take the first step, whatever that might be. God gave Paul a simple “first” step – “Arise, and go to Damascus.” He was to wait there for God to reveal to him the “next” step. But understand this, God wouldn’t reveal to Him the “next” step before he  took the “first” step.

So friends, after getting our hearts in the right place, let’s each ask God to show us the “first” step we should take to help make some important changes in our lives and in our society. God may have more plans ahead for us, but those plans will not become clear until we all take the “first” step. And let’s take that “first” step boldly and with confidence. God bless you all.