Does it seem to you that our culture is dominated by people whose hearts are hardened by bitterness, fear, hatred, and divisiveness? It sure does to me! We divide into political or social camps and condemn anyone who disagrees with us by labeling them and demeaning their character! Our news sources (on all sides) today seem obsessed with “gotcha” stories about the other side, and looking for stories that actually ruin people’s lives and reputations! And we Christians sometimes find ourselves gleefully agreeing with “our” side of the divide.

I would humbly suggest that our problem today (as in every generation) is not the divisive issues, but rather our hardened hearts! I know, many of us say “That’s not me!”, but are we really sure about that? In the Bible, our mind deals with the intellectual understandings, but the heart is the core of our emotions, will, and gut feelings that drive us to think and act on what we truly believe is right. Even when we know better intellectually, our hardened, bitter, fearful hearts can cause us to say and do things in visceral ways that are very destructive to ourselves and others!

Do you remember the Old Testament story of Moses trying to lead the Hebrew people out of Egypt to freedom? The Egyptian Pharaoh refused to let them go, even after 10 horrible plagues from God that destroyed his nation! Each time, it says “but Pharaoh’s heart was hardened”. Did you realize those 10 plagues related to 10 different false gods that the Egyptians worshiped and put their trust in? It was as though God was saying, “Pharaoh, you will let my people go, and if you will stop following false, man-made gods and worship me, I will bless your nation as well”. But his pride, anger, and bitterness prevented him from hearing God, even when it lead to total destruction of his nation and death of all the first-born in Egypt!

Fast forward to today. Some think if we just educate people on how to act better, that will solve the problem. Others want to pass more laws, outlawing sin and evil actions! But that has never worked, because education & laws alone cannot change our hearts! The Bible makes it clear that our hearts are infected by sin, and we can’t change that even with our best efforts. We need a spiritual heart transplant, and that’s what Jesus came to offer us! In the Old Testament, the people just couldn’t live by the 10 Commandments due to their sinful hearts, and God promised them he would give them a new covenant (agreement) with the power of God’s Spirit to change us!
26 I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. 27 I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgments and do them. -Ezekiel 36:26-27 (NKJV)
Jesus recognized that our sinful thoughts & actions come from our hearts:
20 What comes out of a man is what makes him ‘unclean.’ 21 For from within, out of men’s hearts, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, 22 greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly. 23 All these evils come from inside and make a man ‘unclean.’ Mark 7:20-23 (NIV)

So, what’s the answer?
1) The biblical answer is to put your trust in Jesus!
Now, trusting in Jesus is more than just an intellectual assent! It is giving your whole being, heart, mind, soul, and strength, to God’s control and leading! Paul explains it like this:
8 But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart” (that is, the word of faith that we proclaim); 9 because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. – Romans 10:8-10 (ESV)
Jesus expressed the same idea when asked what the greatest commandment was:
28 One of the teachers of the law came and heard them debating. Noticing that Jesus had given them a good answer, he asked him, “Of all the commandments, which is the most important?” 29 “The most important one,” answered Jesus, “is this: ‘Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. 30 Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ 31 The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.” – Mark 12:28-31 (NIV)
Once you have trusted Jesus with your whole being, the Bible says we are instantly forgiven of our sins, and the Holy Spirit will dwell within us and help overcome the power of sin in our hearts, freeing us to live as new creations in Jesus! This is a “once and for all” moment, and now you belong to God!

2) Guard your heart from sin and bitterness that leads to a hardening of your heart and mind!
Because we still live in this world that is tarnished and broken by sin, we will struggle in our hearts with temptation and evil! But now we have God’s Spirit within us to strengthen us, and when we do give in to temptation (and we all do!), God will forgive us and cleanse our hearts and minds! When King David had sinned terribly (adultery and murder), he knew enough to cry out to God and said:
10 Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me. 11 Cast me not away from your presence, and take not your Holy Spirit from me. 12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and uphold me with a willing spirit. – Psalm 51:10-12 (ESV)

We need to be wise enough to know that our hearts can harden quickly and easily, especially if we focus on the division and bitterness in our culture! The antidote for that is guard your heart from evil thoughts, and focus instead on the good that God brings to life each day! Paul said:
4 Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! 5 Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. 6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. 8 Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable–if anything is excellent or praiseworthy–think about such things. 9 Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me–put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you. -Philippians 4:4-9 (NIV)

I pray that you would guard your heart so that it would remain tender and gentle, always willing to forgive others, and seeking God’s grace and peace. I also pray that God would give you the wisdom to speak and act as Jesus would, and that all together, we Christians, seeking pure hearts, would be used by God to bring reconciliation and hope to a dark and fearful world!