Pure Hearts Lead to a Pure Nation
Feb 24, 2020 | by Anthony Wade
When you think of the nation in which you live, what is your first thought? Are you thankful that you are privileged to live in such a place? Are you concerned with the direction in which the nation, as a whole, is heading? Do you ever dream that your country could get to a place where Godly values, morality, and brotherly love would absolutely forge the pathway toward every decision that is made for the good of its people? Please know today that you are not alone if you have thought any of these things. You may certainly feel like you are in the minority, but that may not necessarily be the case.
Take Elijah, for example. He thought that he was the only one left in the entire nation of Israel that had not forsaken His covenant with God, thrown down His altars, and turned on His prophets with the sword (1 Kings 19:10). In fact, he was so deceived by the enemy to think that nobody else sought after the Lord, that he thought that they all wanted to come after him and kill him! Thank God that He told Elijah he wasn’t alone. In fact, He told Elijah that there were still 7,000 in Israel that had not bowed their knee to the false god (1 Kings 19:18). You see, Elijah was acting out of such selfishness that he could not see the bigger picture. What he didn’t see was the only picture that mattered.
The bigger picture that was eluding Elijah at the time was the fact that he mattered to God. The attitude of his heart mattered to God. There have been many people buy into the notion that there is strength in numbers. While there is an element of truth to that statement, there is a much deeper truth that sometimes gets lost.
You see, it isn’t the size of the numbers that is of the utmost importance; but it is the strength, honor, integrity, and purity of the individuals that make up those numbers that matters the most. Allow me demonstrate this truth to you with an illustration. If you put together the five worst basketball players that you could find, you would simply have an abundance of garbage. If, on the other hand, you put together five players that had honed their individual skills to the point that they were each the absolute best at their position, you would have an all-star team. If you then add people to that team who are humble enough to be the last reserve to enter the game even though they had perfected their talents so that they could be the best player on any other team in the league, then you have a dream team. This is exactly what happened with the American men’s team in the 1992 Olympics.
John F. Kennedy once said “Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country.” That goes beyond just paying your taxes and helping that little old lady across the street. It means that you stand up for your principles. Not just principles that you learned in the Boy Scouts; but the ones that have been forever engraved onto your heart by the Word of God. That Word is alive and powerful (Hebrews 4:12) and is ever ready to light your pathway (Psalm 119:105). For example, a pure heart would never look to the government to supply its needs. It’s not the government’s job to supply our needs. A pure heart knows that responsibility rests solely on the Father (Philippians 4:19).
Your nation is just like that basketball team. We are all called to be salt and light in this earth (Matthew 5:13-16). If you are blessed to be able to vote for your leaders, use that vote to declare your principles and establish the Kingdom. Don’t rely on your vote to selfishly meet your needs because it never will. Like Elijah in a moment of weakness, only a person that is thinking of himself would vote that way. Instead, become an individual of integrity and purity because the only way to truly have a pure nation is to have a nation full of individuals with pure hearts.
Remember, the Lord Jesus told us that the people who will see God will be those with pure hearts (Matthew 5:8). If you wonder why your nation, as a whole, doesn’t see God very often, that may be a good place to start. Lead the charge to purity today!
Today’s Word Study: 1 Timothy 2:1-8