Dear Family,
In trying to understand this world, I have become convinced that people are ruled by their hearts, rather than their heads. This truth was clear in Bible times to the Hebrew mindset, but is not so clear to modern Western people. We tend to think that our mind is the control center of our being, but the Bible clearly teaches that our heart is: "For from the heart flow all the issues of life." This helps me understand how some people can think so entirely differently than I do, especially on issues like religion and politics. Sometimes it is absolutely mind-boggling how people can hold to the exact opposite views which I do. But once I realize their hearts are pointed in a different direction than mine, then it becomes easier to understand why they think the way they do.
Everyone likes to think they are rational, but every one of us aligns our thoughts according to where our heart is pointed. We remember facts that support what we believe in our heart and we even twist the facts to conform to our heart's orientation.
Therefore, we will never be in mental agreement with another person, until we are in heart agreement. If one person hates President Obama and another loves him, they will remember opposing facts which reinforce their present beliefs. If one person hates Darwin and the other loves him, they will never think alike. If one person loves Israel and the other does not, they will always disagree about the related subjects. If one person loves France while another hates France, they will always disagree on certain political issues.
This works not only "for the other guy" but also for you and me. Knowing this I have to be suspicious of my own thought patterns. For example, I don't like John Calvin, the great Church leader of the Protestant Reformation. From my perspective he messed things up. That's why I named my dog, Calvin--so I can yell at him from time to time. Knowing that every person's thoughts are aligned with their own heart, I need to be aware that my own thoughts are distorted according to my heart. Maybe John Calvin isn't as bad as I think he is.
Because people's thoughts follow their heart, any two people who want to walk in unison must love the same things and people. This is what a covenant entails. With true covenant relationships individuals are committing themselves to have the same friends and enemies. Covenant commitment says, "I will love what you love and hate what you hate." For this reason in a mixed marriage when there are children from previous marriages the couple must each commit to love each other's children the same way that their spouse loves their own children. Similarly in relationships in community, people must love what their covenant partners love.
Some people have tried to have covenant relationships by wrought-iron commitment to each other without commitment to love the same things. That is impossible. No two people can stay in harmony, when their hearts are pointed in two different directions. That is like bringing two magnets together when the polarities are in opposing directions. On the other hand, if any two people will love the same things, it is easy to stay in love with each other. That is like bringing two magnets together when their polarities are aligned.
Loving the same things is possible because every individual has authority over their own heart. This truth is also contrary to Western understanding. We in the West tend to think that the heart wants what it wants and we are helplessly subject to its whims. On the other hand, we tend to think that we have authority over our minds, so we can think what we want to think. Just the opposite is true. A person only has authority over their heart. They can decide what to open their heart to and what they can close their heart to. For this reason the Bible exhorts us to watch over our heart with all diligence.
To see that one's authority is over their heart, rather than their mind consider how the mind follows the heart. A person who hates themselves will always have thoughts about how terrible they are. A person who loves God, will have thoughts about how good God is. When you have a friend who is very angry at another person, and if you bond with that angry friend, soon your mind will have thoughts about how terrible that other person is. If you open your heart to angry people you will have the related thoughts. Thoughts spread between bonded hearts. Thoughts flow and roam where hearts are receptive to those thoughts.
Some teachers say, "We live in a battle for the minds of humanity." But the real battle is for the hearts of humanity. If someone's heart is with us, then their mind will follow. For this reason, someone who hates Christians can never be intellectually convinced that Christianity it true. On the other hand, someone who loves you and respects your Christian beliefs will be easily convinced of the truths of Christianity.
Finally, we can learn from this how important it is too keep our own heart right. Only if our own heart is right, can we be confident that our mind is right. Only when the heart is anchored in God is the mind rational. If we are filled with anger, we are irrational. If we are hateful or bitter, we are illogical. If we walk in forgiveness, then and only then can we trust our own thoughts.
I guess I will have to forgive John Calvin.
