Christianity is a religion, not of rites and ceremonies, but of the heart. So also was the religion of the Jews as intended by the Lord God. Note some verses:

"Therefore also now, said the Lord, turn ye even to me with all your heart, and with fasting and with weeping and with mourning. Rend your heart and not your garments. Turn unto the Lord your God, for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and of great kindness, and repents him of the evil." (Joel 2:12-13.)

"Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. The second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets." (Matt. 22:37-40.)

"For we are the circumcision, which worship God in the spirit and rejoice in Christ Jesus and have no confidence in the flesh." (Phil. 3:3.) "But he is a Jew, which is one inwardly, and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter; whose praise is not of men, but of God." (Rom. 2:29.)

"My defense is of God, which saves the upright in heart. God judges the righteous and God is angry with the wicked every day." (Psalm 7:10-11.)

"God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually." (Gen. 6:5.)

"The heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked; who can know it? I the Lord search the heart; I try the reins, even to give every man according to his ways and according to the fruit of his doings." (Jer. 17:9-10.)

"Now therefore put away, said he, the strange gods which are among you and incline your heart unto the Lord God of Israel. And the people said unto Joshua, The Lord our God will we serve, and his voice will we obey." (Joshua 24:23-24.)

There is nothing more important that the answer to this question. The psalmist said that Israel’s heart was not right with God. "For their heart was not right with him, neither were they stedfast in his covenant." (Psa. 78:37.) Peter said to the sorcerer, "Thou hast neither part nor lot in this matter, for thy heart is not right in the sight of God." (Acts 8:21.)

We know when our hearts are right with others and with God. We are happy and at peace with ourselves and others. We can sing, It is well with my soul. One whose heart is not right is often critical, complaining, bitter. It is impossible to please such a person. The church is all wrong; everyone upsets such a person; the world is depressing. Everything seems all contrary to such a person because his heart is not right. A happy contented person will show it. There is peace and happiness.

Is your heart right with God and others? This is a question that we must ask ourselves and one that preachers have a responsibility to ask. A teacher will not likely ask you this question. They are concerned about your grades and study habits. When you visit the doctor, he is not likely to ask you about your heart (soul). He is concerned about your body and health. I must ask the most sobering question of all. Is your heart right with God?

One preacher said, "I do not mean to stand on the outside of the gate and ring the bell, but coming up the steps I open the door and come to the private apartment of the soul; and with the earnestness of a man that must give account for this day’s work, I cry out, O man, O woman immortal, Is thy heart right with God?" (500 Selected Sermons by T. DeWitt Talmage, 1957, vol.13, 278.)

If the heart is right with God, everything is alright. But if wrong, everything is wrong! If the heart is right, it is alright if my finances are in trouble, or if my health is failing, or if friends oppose me, or if I lose my job. On the other hand, if my heart is wrong with God and man, it does not matter how wealthy, healthy, popular or successful according to the standards of this world that I am. If my heart is wrong, everything is wrong!

A good consideration about the dangers and pitfalls in living is this: What is the worse thing that can happen to me in life? It is not the physical things that befall mankind. It is not the things that so often attract the most of our empathy and compassion.

A few years ago much of the world watched and waited as a child was being rescued from an abandoned well. The whole experience was surely shocking and devastating to the family. Finally, she was brought to safety. But that is not the worse thing that could have happened to that little girl and her family.

I met a man once who was born without any arms. He could open a car or house door with his feet. He even fed himself. As difficult as life must have been for him, that is not the worse thing that could have happened to him.

Little children in war torn countries are often left orphaned due to both parents being killed. They have no place to live and no family to go for help. As tragic as war-orphans are, this is not the worse tragedy in life.

One of my favorite religious authors is the Lutheran, Dietrich Bonhoffer. While a young promising biblical scholar, he was arrested by the Hitler regime for his opposition to Hitler’s policy. Just a few days before the end of WWII, he was shot to death. Over nine million people were put to death by the madness of the German leaders. But that is not the worse thing that could have happened.

Jack Harriman of Fayetteville, AR, wrote an article in Bulletin Digest, Jan. 1995, titled, "Lukewarm: The Condition I Fear Most." What is the condition that we should be most concerned about? What is the worse thing that can happen to a person in life? Without hesitation, I answer that it is the hardening of the human heart.

The reason should be obvious. All of us begin life with a child’s heart. It is tender and pliable. It can be shaped and fashioned by parents, teachers, friends and the world. As time goes on and the child grows up, the most important matter for each person for time and eternity is the condition of the heart. Does it remain tender and teachable, or does it become hardened by sin?

The wise man counseled, "Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out it are the issues of life." (Prov. 4:23.)

There are a lot of things in life over which we have little or no control. We cannot keep tragedies from happening. We cannot prevent abnormalities in childbirth. We cannot control the madness of petty dictators, terrorists, robbers and murderers. But there is one thing that we can control and is declared to be our responsibility---the condition of our hearts.

We are told to keep our hearts with all diligence. Jesus said, "Except you be converted and become as little children, you shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven." (Matt. 18:3.) The Hebrew writer said that it is impossible to renew some to repentance. (Heb. 6:4.) How shocking the words, "It is impossible." Paul wrote, "But after thy hardness and impenitent heart treasurest up unto thyself wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God." (Rom. 2:5.) "Today if you will hear his voice, Harden not your hearts, as in the provocation." (Heb. 3:15.)

It seems possible for one to allow one’s heart to become so hardened that it is impossible to renew it again unto repentance. That is one reason that we should guard our hearts with all diligence.

"Behold I stand at the door and knock. If any man will hear my voice and open the door, I will come in to him and will sup with him and he with me." (Rev. 3:20.) We control the door to our hearts. The condition of our hearts is our responsibility alone. I cannot blame others for a heart that is closed to God and to the Gospel of His Son. Adverse things in life can even be used to draw us closer to God.

There are some very specific things against which we should guard our hearts. It is interesting in reading the Scriptures that some categories of things are discernible. Here are some of them.

Guard against bitterness and becoming cynical. Paul wrote, "Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamour, and evil speaking be put away from you with all malice. Be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you." (Eph. 4:31-32.) The list of things here fall into one category. The opposite of bitterness, wrath, anger, clamour and evil speaking is kindness, tenderhearted and forgiving. Some people never forgive others. They live with hurts the rest of their lives. Some learn to distrust all people due to some being unkind to them. Do not allow your hearts to become cynical and untrusting. It is true that some human beings should not be trusted, but that does not mean that everyone is that way. Keep a positive view of human beings. Encourage others to be their best; do not think the worst of others.

Guard against covetousness. The Bible warns often about this malady. It will take over you life and control you. Covetousness is defined as idolatry because it becomes a god that you worship. (Col. 3:5, Eph. 5:5, 1 John 5:21.) Jesus said, "Take heed and beware of covetousness, for a man’s life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth." (Luke 12:15.) Covetousness will destroy spirituality because its focus is on the material.

Guard your hearts against lusts. Listen to Peter. "Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts which war against the soul." (1 Peter 2:11.) Solomon often counseled the young men to stand guard against the temptations of lewd women. He wrote, "For the lips of a strange woman drop as an honeycomb, and her mouth is smoother than oil, but her end is bitter as wormwood, sharp as a two-edged sword. Her feet go down to death; her steps take hold on hell. . . . Remove thy way far from her and come not nigh the door of her house." (Prov. 5:3-5, 8.)

Guard your hearts against unbelief. The Hebrew writer often warned concerning the dangers of unbelief. "Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God. But exhort one another while it is called today, lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin." (Heb. 3:12-13.)

Guard your heart against indifference. This simply means that you really do not care about things anymore. Nothing is important enough to form strong convictions about them. We can all be lulled to sleep while we live. Life does matter; it is important. Can a mother be indifferent about the needs of her child? Can a father not care if his family is fed? Should a Christian not care about the meaning of the cross of Jesus? Does the church not matter to you? In the words of Jeremiah, "Is it nothing to you, all ye who pass by?" (Lamentations 1:12.) The young David replied to his brothers who rebuked him for coming to the battlefield, "Is there not a cause?" (1 Sam. 17:29.) Christians today act as if there is no cause. The church lays waste and it means nothing to them. Social activities, ball games, vacations, parties, entertainment come first instead of the Kingdom of our Lord.