The Day I Met Irene

 

Growing up, one of my favorite shows was Leave It to Beaver. Though this TV choice dates me, it also shaped me because it established the importance of values, morals, and ideals with a smidge of the unrealistic. For instance, the show's portrayal of the Cleaver family's strong sense of community and respect for others influenced my own values of kindness and empathy. After all, who vacuums in high-heels and pearls or maintains an immaculate house or car and consistently has less than 20% body fat for the seven straight years the show aired? Never mentioned was the dwindling bank account before the end of the month, the thought of driving a second-hand automobile, and as for clout and reputation, never was an ill word spoken against them. Practically perfect in every way. It was the epitome of the American dream, the right way to live in a world where there was an answer for everything, and maintaining rightness and order was always the "soup of the day." Within 30 minutes, things just always worked out.

Let's face it; life isn't like that - as much as we wish it could be. Instead, it is filled with challenges, some more unimaginable than we ever thought possible. Some with disappointing answers. Some with no answers - ever! Seemingly no constants on which to depend. The truth is that the Cleavers were ideal and never meant to be accurate. I've often wondered what would happen if something had turned the Cleaver's lives upside down. What if their house burned, or June had to go to work because Ward lost his job, and she battled the perils of a messy house due to sheer exhaustion? What if the boys became rebellious? Indeed, some sparks would fly, and that well-ordered life might fall apart. This is another reason not to focus on the surface or rely too heavily on it. Instead, we must look deeply into the most powerful controller of our lives - the heart. Being thought of as a person with a good heart is noble, but another truth is revealed when some unforeseen calamity strikes. If we are unprepared, our 'good heart' can do and say some unpopular things, yielding words and actions that neither Ward nor June would ever say. The writer of this proverb challenges us to see what the Bible says about the condition of our hearts, no matter how good we think it is, and the care needed for a spiritually healthy heart.

1. The heart is deceitful. Jeremiah 17:9-12: "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?"   

2.The heart harbors hatred concerning the sins of others above hating its own sins. In simpler terms, we often find it easier to judge and criticize others than to acknowledge and address our faults. 1 Corinthians 4:5 Therefore do not pronounce judgment before the time, before the Lord comes, who will bring to light the things now hidden in darkness and will disclose the purposes of the heart. Then each one will receive his commendation from God. 

3.The heart finds fault quickly with the sins of others and overlooks its shortcomings. Matthew 7:3-5 ESV Why do you see the speck that is in your brother's eye but does not notice the log that is in your eye? Or how can you say to your brother, 'Let me take the speck out of your eye,' when there is the log in your eye?  You hypocrite, first take the log out of your eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother's eye.

4. The monitoring of the spiritual heart is often left undone.
Proverbs 4:23 Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life.

The well-kept heart may not always have all the answers, but it readily hears and obeys the One who does. 

photo credit: TVyesteryear.com