Testing The Heart

The simple fact is that each of us will be faced with difficult choices throughout our lives. How we handle these tests determine what happens afterwards, with both short- and long-term consequences. Trials of this sort bring all kinds of things to light about a person’s character and moral makeup. It tells a lot about a person, watching them as they face situations which call for them to respond from the heart. A great way to example this with a segment from the Lord of the Rings story, by JRR Tolkien. In this particular part of the story an Elf leader named Galadriel is faced with just such a situation. Galadriel understands the great power unknowingly offered to her by Frodo, and by taking The One Ring she can instantly receive supremacy through wearing it. While this is just a fictional story, Tolkien (a Christian) went out of his way to incorporate tremendous spiritual truths in his portrayal of Middle Earth (in general) and the influence of testing and temptation in the lives of individuals (in particular). While Galadriel eventually made the right choice, she still had to endure the trial. The point I’m making is that although she was good she still faced an opportunity to make the wrong choice. These choices (although perhaps not quite so grand) are offered to each of us throughout our lives.

Why do people (even Christians) suffer from trials and tests? Is it because God doesn’t love us? Is it because God wants us to fail? Is God the source of our temptation to do what He has commanded us to flee from? These are questions that each of us ask ourselves at one point or another. We also ask these things of the One Who has called us to follow Him. How can a loving God allow temptations into our lives when He knows we are weak and prone to giving in to them? Some people say that the reality of these things is proof that God cares little for us, if at all. For the Christian who encounters trials and temptations (which is every one of us!) they can be a source of confusion, anger and fear. During the darkest of times we begin to rethink our relationship with Christ, and even our very salvation. So why do these things happen to us? These are valid questions and they deserve to be answered. Especially as Christians, I believe we have a desire to know the truth regarding the purpose(if any) for the evil things we sometimes have to endure.

There are multiple reasons why these things confront us. Everyone has periods of trial and testing, saint and sinner alike. Even Jesus was tempted and tested (Heb 4:15)! There are many, many reasons for testing the hearts and it goes beyond the scope of this post to try and cover them all. Because of this we will focus on just one aspect of why Christians have to face the sometimes tough choices we must face. We will focus on the fact that, through trial and testing, God Himself sees what is truly in our hearts based on the reactions we have to these trials;

Prov 21:2-3

Every way of a man is right in his own eyes, But the Lord weighs the hearts. To do righteousness and justice is more acceptable to the Lord than sacrifice.

New King James

The old adage is true; “You can’t judge a book by its cover.” There are people who seem, by all appearances, to be upright and good. There are others who seem to continuously make wrong choices. And while we can gauge a person by the fruit of their lives, we must not convince ourselves that we can see and know their heart. As in the passage above, even though someone might be doing all the right things on the outside, the inside of the person is more important. This point is exampled by the events which happened to Saul, the first king of Israel. In 1 Sam 15:1-31 we find that God proved the heart attitude of Saul by testing to see if he would follow the Word of the Lord. He was told what to do by the prophet Samuel, with specific instructions. When the time came, however, he disobeyed those instructions and rationalized away his disobedience instead of performing what he was told to do. We find that this action (one of many) was the response of a heart out of submission to God. In response to his self-justification Samuel lets Saul know that God ponders the heart, and places greater importance on heart attitude more than simple outward actions ;

1 Sam 15:22-23

“Has the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed than the fat of rams. For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry.”

New King James

The events recorded show us several things. Among them they point out the heart attitude of Samuel the prophet, the heart attitude of the people of Israel as well as the heart attitude of King Saul. Even when confronted with his sin Saul refused to accept responsibility, attempting instead to rationalize his rebellion and minimize the gravity of his errant heart’s decision. Ultimately Saul was rejected as being king, not because of his errors but because of his unrepentant heart attitude. His actions were not the source of that rejection; instead he was rejected because of his rebellious and unrepentant attitude.

As it was with Saul (and every single human being before and after him) so it is with us. God uses various situations in our lives to see what we do with those situations. Are we going to try and manage things on our own using our own wisdom and thinking, as Saul did? Or will we rely on the leadership, protection and provision of the One Who calls us to follow by submitting our hearts and lives to His Word? Even if we error in our actions, will we allow the Holy Spirit to bring us to the point of contrition and repentance or will we – like Saul – disregard that leading by continuing on with a rebellious heart?

Those choices are ours alone to make, and we need to make those choices wisely.