Every man and woman has two hearts. One is the physical organ called the heart that is responsible for pumping blood throughout the human body. The other is spiritual in nature. Some refer to it as the mind of man.  Others call it the soul. It is this second heart about which we are speaking in this article.

The heart is referenced hundreds of times in the Bible. In the New Testament alone, the heart is mentioned 106 times in 99 verses. The Greek word for heart is “kardia.” Strong defines the word “heart” as “the heart, that is, (figuratively) the thoughts or feelings (the mind).” Thayer gives a much more detailed definition of the heart:

“The heart, denotes the centre of all physical and spiritual life: the centre and seat of spiritual life; the soul or mind, as it is the fountain and seat of thoughts, passions, desires, appetites, affections, purposes, endeavors; of the understanding, the faculty and seat of the intelligence;  the will and character; of the soul so far as it is affected and stirred in a bad way or good, or of the soul as the seat of sensibilities, affections, emotions, desires, appetites, passions.”

The heart of man is his control center.   Every thought, emotion, word, and action originates first in the heart of man.

Ultimately, each human being is the one who controls his/her heart. We sit in the driver’s seat.  We are at the control panel.  God longs to be in control, but He will not force anyone to yield the control of his heart to Him.

There is a sense in which we only “think” we have control of our hearts. The reality is that our hearts are influenced by the things that we allow in them. “As a man thinketh in his heart, so is he…” (Prov. 23:7).   The things upon which we think, reflect, and meditate are what really control our hearts.   This is why the wise Solomon wrote: “Keep they heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life”  (Prov. 4:23).   If we think about positive things, our lives will be positive. If we think on good things, our lives will be good. If we dwell upon evil things, our lives will be evil.  Our control is manifested in our choices of what goes into our hearts. Jesus summed it up with these words: “A good man out of the good treasure of the heart bringeth forth good things: and an evil man out of the evil treasure bringeth forth evil things” (Matt. 12:35).

Who is controlling your heart?  Who are you allowing inside you heart? There are really only two answers: Satan or Jesus Christ.  If we want to think right, speak right, and act right, we need to give our hearts to Jesus. We do this by submitting ourselves fully to His will found in the New Testament.   Listen to Paul’s word to the Corinthians:  “For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;) casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ” (2 Cor. 10:4-5).   A war is being waged in the minds of men.  Strong holds, imaginations, and high things from Satan seek to influence us.  We cannot allow these things to control us.  We conquer these things by “bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ.”

Will our hearts be influenced by good or evil?   Will our hearts be influence by truth or error?   Will our hearts be influenced by the Spirit or the flesh? Will our hearts be influenced by love or hate?   Will hearts be influenced by holiness or by sin?   These are our choices. This is where each one of us is in control. Paul understood this and wrote to the Philippians, saying: “”Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things” (Phil. 4:8).

Fortunately, it is easy for us to see who is controlling our hearts.   All we have to do is examine our lives.   We audit our thoughts.   We listen to our words.  We inspect our behaviors.   We probe into our motives.   This must be done sincerely and honestly.  There can be no excuses or justifications. If we find all of these things to be in line with the truth of the gospel, we are fine.   On the other hand, if we find our thoughts, words, motives, and behaviors to be evil, we know that we are allowing something other than God’s will to influence us.

It is possible for us to deceive ourselves if we are not careful. If the Jews had been asked: “Do you love God?” They would have responded with a bold affirmative.   But listen to what Jesus had to say about them.   “Ye hypocrites, well did Esaias prophesy of you, saying, This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me” (Matt. 15:7-8). There are Christians who would assert that they love God with all of their hearts (Matt. 22:37-38), but they are deceived because they hate a brother or sister in Christ. John tell us:  “If a man say, I love God and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he that not seen? And this commandment have we from him, That he who loveth God love his brother also” (1 John 4:20-21).

Dear reader, you are in ultimate control of your heart.  You have the ability to allow Christ’s words into your heart to direct you, or, you can allow Satan’s evil influences into your heart to lead your life.  Your attitude, your motives, your words, your emotions, and your behaviors scream out to the world who you are serving. Too, God knows exactly who you are allowing to control your heart.  We will close with David’s words to Solomon found in 1 Chronicles 28:9. “And thou, Solomon my son, know thou the God of thy father, and serve him with a perfect heart and with a willing mind: for the Lord searcheth all hearts, and understandeth all the imaginations of the thoughts: if thou seek him, he will be found of thee; but if thou forsake him, he will cast thee off  forever.”

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“Your salvation doesn’t depend on your quality as a human being but on the value of the blood of Christ. We have to stop looking at the magnitude of our sin and start looking at the magnitude of the cross.”  – Gary Massey; 2 Cor. 3:5