Be the Student of Your Own Heart
What gain do we have if we know our hearts well?
Scholars have their books which they study diligently. All subjects of study have their books. But as a Christian, next to the Bible, we need to study the book of our own hearts.
1. We will know where our discontent lies. Those who are strangers of their own hearts are powerfully discontented because they do not know the cause of it and they do not know how to quiet it. If we know our hearts well, we will soon find the cause of the disquiets and quickly able to calm it down.
2. We will know what best suit our condition. Carnal men will vex at every affliction that befalls them because they do not know their spirits, so they do not know how much they need them to cure the disorders of their own heart. But those who know their heart conditions well will affirm the value of suffering should God allow it for their sanctification.
3. We will know what we can handle. A person who does not know his own heart does not know what he can handle, and therefore will greedily hold for more things than he is able to manage. But a heart comes to contentment when he realizes that it is good that certain things are denied or taken away from him because he knows he is not able to manage such conditions.
With relation to our hearts, we need to develop a right and balanced view of possessions.
Many people only look at the glitters of riches but are not equipped with the knowledge of the burden that comes with it. Just as we need a strong brain to take a strong wine, we need a strong spirit to bear the burden of prosperity so that we will not do ourselves hurt.
If we do not know the grief and burden of riches, we will not be able to handle them wisely and in our ignorance we will subject our souls to a lot of perils. We should question ourselves if we have the spiritual character to handle them. A man with understanding will thank God for His mercy for keeping from him what he cannot handle.
1. Those who set their hearts to be rich pierce themselves with many sorrows. A lot of people appear happy outside but we do not know what troubles them inside, unless we are in their shoes. The riches of the world come with their own sorrows and cares and we will do well to take note of this.
2. There is danger in a rich condition. Those who are prosperous are subject to a lot of temptation which others do not face. Those on higher position will be more easily drowned into perdition, as history testifies. The Scriptures say how hard it is for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God. Such reality should be in our consideration when we think of riches.
Quoting from Matthew Henry as a summary, “There is a burden of care in getting riches, fear in keeping them, temptation in using them, guilt in abusing them, sorrow in losing them, and a burden of account at last to be given up about them.”
Being acquainted with the condition of our hearts, and knowng the burden of riches then, we will come to an understanding of how dreadful it is if God gives us up to our own heart desires.
The worst judgment is not physical, but spiritual judgment. It is more fearful than any other judgment. It is the most horrifying thing mif God gives you up to your own lusts and desires. One will not want to be rich if he has to be sick in exchange of his riches. So health is a greater mercy than wealth. And the soul is an infinitely far greater mercy than health. Therefore it is a great mistake to wail over worldly losses if that should save our souls. When we come to this understanding, we will thank God for His afflictions and rest content in His loving dealings towards us.
Scholars have their books which they study diligently. All subjects of study have their books. But as a Christian, next to the Bible, we need to study the book of our own hearts.
1. We will know where our discontent lies. Those who are strangers of their own hearts are powerfully discontented because they do not know the cause of it and they do not know how to quiet it. If we know our hearts well, we will soon find the cause of the disquiets and quickly able to calm it down.
2. We will know what best suit our condition. Carnal men will vex at every affliction that befalls them because they do not know their spirits, so they do not know how much they need them to cure the disorders of their own heart. But those who know their heart conditions well will affirm the value of suffering should God allow it for their sanctification.
3. We will know what we can handle. A person who does not know his own heart does not know what he can handle, and therefore will greedily hold for more things than he is able to manage. But a heart comes to contentment when he realizes that it is good that certain things are denied or taken away from him because he knows he is not able to manage such conditions.
With relation to our hearts, we need to develop a right and balanced view of possessions.
Many people only look at the glitters of riches but are not equipped with the knowledge of the burden that comes with it. Just as we need a strong brain to take a strong wine, we need a strong spirit to bear the burden of prosperity so that we will not do ourselves hurt.
If we do not know the grief and burden of riches, we will not be able to handle them wisely and in our ignorance we will subject our souls to a lot of perils. We should question ourselves if we have the spiritual character to handle them. A man with understanding will thank God for His mercy for keeping from him what he cannot handle.
1. Those who set their hearts to be rich pierce themselves with many sorrows. A lot of people appear happy outside but we do not know what troubles them inside, unless we are in their shoes. The riches of the world come with their own sorrows and cares and we will do well to take note of this.
2. There is danger in a rich condition. Those who are prosperous are subject to a lot of temptation which others do not face. Those on higher position will be more easily drowned into perdition, as history testifies. The Scriptures say how hard it is for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God. Such reality should be in our consideration when we think of riches.
Quoting from Matthew Henry as a summary, “There is a burden of care in getting riches, fear in keeping them, temptation in using them, guilt in abusing them, sorrow in losing them, and a burden of account at last to be given up about them.”
Being acquainted with the condition of our hearts, and knowng the burden of riches then, we will come to an understanding of how dreadful it is if God gives us up to our own heart desires.
The worst judgment is not physical, but spiritual judgment. It is more fearful than any other judgment. It is the most horrifying thing mif God gives you up to your own lusts and desires. One will not want to be rich if he has to be sick in exchange of his riches. So health is a greater mercy than wealth. And the soul is an infinitely far greater mercy than health. Therefore it is a great mistake to wail over worldly losses if that should save our souls. When we come to this understanding, we will thank God for His afflictions and rest content in His loving dealings towards us.
posted by Mejlina Tjoa @ 1:03 PM
4 Comments:
At 12:53 PM,
Anonymous said…
Agreed. I find those strategically placed highlights helpful in the reading.
Ruth
At 7:07 PM,
The Hedonese said…
:) Martyn Lloyd Jones once said that we should learn to preach to oursleves... instead of letting ourselves preach to us what we should be doing hehehe... selah
At 2:53 PM,
Johnny Ong said…
by thinking of getting rich will get you nowhere. most of the time people are curious at how richness lifestyle could be and being human, they tend to get their hands on to it. it's the process of getting rich that we have to be careful about and not being rich itself. people will get carried away if their hearts are not right with God.
if God chose to bless you, no matter how you do things, the blessings will still come. but at times, people chose to do it at their own pace, timing, strength and neglected God in the process.
i have went thru the lowest point of my life (when parents' financial situation went awry during teenage time) and to a point where i'm financially stable in my profession (not rich) but with no financial debts. I had learnt tons of lessons here which i believed God has prepared me to share with others.
whatever happens to us, as we maintain our fellowship with Him, He is always in control and has many plans for us to fulfil as a vessel.
At 12:24 PM,
Mejlina Tjoa said…
Hi Johnny,
Thanks for dropping by and sharing a bit about yourself.
What you say is true however the spirit of the age (materialism) is very strong & I think most of us are influenced by it in greater or lesser degree.
We should put more serious thought to how we can overcome ourselves. Though we are so limited, God in His own timing has His own ways of teaching us where true value lies.
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