Truth in the Heart

Whoever walks blamelessly and does justice; who thinks the truth in his heart…shall never be disturbed. – Psalm 15: 2,3,5

Spiritually, your heart is the seat of your person. When we speak “from the heart,” it is from a place deep inside us; what we say is genuine and sincere. You can think of your heart as “the real you.” Jesus is speaking about the condition of our hearts in our Gospel reading this Sunday. The Pharisees were concerned about whether things were clean on the outside. Jesus is interested in how clean our hearts are on the inside. The Jewish people were concerned with certain foods, activities, and things that are “unclean” according to Levitical law. Here Jesus is redefining what it means to be clean and unclean, pure and impure. 

Jesus said, “For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks” (Matthew 12:34). In other words, what’s in your heart eventually will come out of your mouth! The things that are in your heart, deep down in the center of your person, come out as thoughts, words, and actions. The heart is where both virtue and sin begin. Our thoughts, words, and actions are the gauge of whether we are clean or unclean. Jesus teaches, “From within people, from their hearts, come evil thoughts, unchastity, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, licentiousness, envy, blasphemy, arrogance, folly. All these evils come from within and they defile” (Mark 7:21-23).

St. James exhorts us to “Humbly welcome the word that has been planted in you and is able to save your souls” (James 1:21). Ask yourself this week what words and images you are allowing to be planted in your heart. Is God’s Word one of those things? Do you seek out words of truth, or words of gossip or falsehood? Are you planting virtue or vice?

Dear Jesus, create a clean heart in me (Ps 51:10). Help me to welcome the Word that You want to plant in my heart so that I may always think and act in truth and goodness.