Perspective: Treasury of the Heart

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Treasury of the Heart

From now on, brothers and sisters, if anything is excellent and if anything is admirable, focus your thoughts on these things: all that is true, all that is holy, all that is just, all that is pure, all that is lovely, and all that is worthy of praise.

Philippians 4:8 (CEB)

But I'm on the outside

And I'm looking in

I can see through you

See your true colors

'Cause inside you're ugly

You're ugly like me

I can see through you

See to the real you

From "Outside" by Staind

Jesus once said to a crowd gathered on a plain, "No good tree bears bad fruit, nor again does a bad tree bear good fruit; for each tree is known by its own fruit.  Figs are not gathered from thorns, nor are grapes picked from a bramble bush."¹  Basically, we can identify a tree by what the tree produces.  If we see that apples are growing on a tree, then we can be relatively certain that it is an apple tree.  On the other hand, if we see oranges growing on a tree, we can be pretty sure that we're looking at an orange tree.  Oranges do not grow on apple trees, nor do apples grow on orange trees.

Of course, Jesus was not making a statement about horticulture.  He was telling His audience that, in the same way we can identify a tree by the kind of fruit it produces, we can learn a lot about a person's character by the quality of the fruit the person produces - his or her words and actions.  Jesus continues, "The good person out of the good treasure of the heart produces good, and the evil person out of evil treasure produces evil; for it is out of the abundance of the heart that the mouth speaks."²

The Greek word that is translated into English as "treasure" is thēsauros,³ from which we get the word thesaurus, the name we use for a book of collected words.⁴  A writer might look up a word in a thesaurus in order to find other words that are similar or opposite.  One might say that it is a "treasury" or "storehouse" of words.  Jesus used the word thēsauros to compare a person's heart to a storehouse, the contents of which will determine what comes out in a person's life.  Perhaps it could be said that what fills one's heart overflows through one's words and actions.  What we store up on the inside will inevitable work its way outward.

Basically, what we hold within our inner storehouses will determine what we say and do.  If we store evil things in our hearts, then we will produce evil words and evil deeds; however, if we treasure up good things in our hearts, then good things will come out in our lives.

For me, this reality raises some questions.  How can we change what we store in our hearts so that we change the kinds of words and actions we produce?  How do we get the evil things we're hiding out of our hearts, and how do we fill our hearts with good things?

When it comes to getting the evil things out of our inner storehouses, I suspect that confession is key.  Confession is not a shame-based sin deterrent but rather a means of unburdening ourselves of what is weighing us down.  It is said in recovery communities that one is only as sick as one's secrets.  Confession might mean confiding in someone we trust, or it might mean simply admitting to ourselves what we have been afraid to admit.  If we aren't quite sure what to do about what is going on within us, we might need to see a counselor or a therapist.  St. John promises that, when we confess something, we will find grace and healing.⁵  When we name something and bring it out into the open, its effect on us begins to wane.

When it comes to filling our inner storehouses with good things, we will need some intentionality.  First, we need to be intentional about meditating on good things.  St. Paul encourages us to focus on things that are excellent, admirable, true, holy, just, pure, lovely, and praiseworthy.  At the same time, we also need to be intentional about doing good things.  We tend to think that personal transformation is something that works its way outward, but I think it can work its way inward as well.  It has been said, "You don't think your way into a new kind of living.  You live your way into a new kind of thinking."⁶

If we want to change who we are on the outside, then we need to work on what we are holding on the inside.  May we have the courage to step into the storehouses of our hearts and face what we find inside, and may we have the willingness do the work we know we need to do.


Notes:

1. Luke 6:43-44 (NRSV)
2. Luke 6:45 (NRSV)
3. Blue Letter Bible: "thēsauros"
4. Wikipedia: "Thesaurus"
5. 1 John 1:9
6. A quote like this has been attributed to both Henri Nouwen and Richard Rohr.

The photograph featured in this perspective was taken by Pixabay user jackal211 and has been released to the public domain.  The photographer is in no way affiliated with this blog.