It's The Heart

How close should we monitor our heart? Three years after I arrived in the Philippines an incident happened that has kept me alert to the importance of this – I would like to share it with you: 

I was in my car going to a Bible Study in a little village called Cupang. A four-year-old girl ran out from behind a house and ran across the street - straight into my car. I saw her come out from behind the house and knowing how common it is over here to not notice traffic the way Americans do, I stopped my car before she ran into the street. She was looking behind her while running and ran right into my front tire. I was not moving when she hit my car – but in this culture that would not matter. I was the foreigner and that makes me rich and responsible. This is the way it is here. 

This will be most difficult for me to share. But it is an important item to learn concerning cultural adaptation. Whenever you enter a new culture or, one enters your life (which is what is happening to many churches in the USA) you need to guard your heart from callousness. New ideas and ways of living are hard for all of us to get use to. Even if they really are unfair, different values also can make us hard if we are not careful. Things that are different and even wrong can cause a growth of callousness that God is not pleased with. If unchecked this callousness can lock our heart and render us ineffective. This is what I discovered with this accident with the four year old. Right after she ran into the side of my car my first thought was not for her, but “What trouble this will be for me now?” “ How much will this cost me?”  The year before my only thought would have been for her well-being. The friends that I have shared this with have all given me excuses. – “You knew she was all right - You have been burned before. Other missionaries have been really hurt financially by some Filipinos” 

All true, but still not good enough. My actions after were correct, I was not to blame, but I still took the girl to the hospital with her mom and paid for x-rays, and got her cleared by a doctor.  But I know what was in my heart and I am ashamed of it. It exposed a hardness that was not there a year before. We need to allow Jesus to soften our hearts everyday and be mindful of it or that callousness will grow. Whether it is I in a new culture or you, as a new culture of living invades your comfort zone at church, we all must seek to remain sensitive (an over used word today) to those things that are important to God. 

The Lord’s thoughts and concerns were for everyone else before Himself. His concern was not to defend Himself or be wrapped up in His rights. His heart beat for those around Him, a soft heart, one that was hard set against sin but soft toward those that commit it. No matter whether the difference in the culture is just new or even wrong we must not allow that to excuse hardness. Only the soft heart of Christ can push through all the garbage this world heaps upon people to make them aware of the loving Creator. Only a heart soft toward a culture can pray - and will take the time to pray. I have spent time with Him to forgive me and remove the callousness that had grown on my heart. I hope that you too will allow the Spirit to do a heart check,