What is the best way to determine what a person is truly like? One of the obvious ways is by observation. We can watch them in action. We can listen to what they say, observe how they live and how they treat people – especially their families, take note of how they use their time, finances, and other resources, discern their priorities, and observe how they handle good times and tough times, success and failure. But even with all that, observation alone cannot help us to know fully what kind of person someone really is.
A major limitation that comes with using observation alone to get to know who someone really is, is that observation depends upon discovery of what we can see and use to draw conclusions about another person. Until, and unless an individual also provides us with revelation of his/her true nature – who he really is deep down on the inside, we will never know that person as fully as we might like. Until another person chooses to reveal those things about him or herself, those things will remain in a storage room called “Who I Really Am? – known better as the heart. King Solomon spoke God’s truth when he said, “as he [a man} thinks in his heart, so is he.”(Proverbs 23:7 NASB). It is in our hearts where the person who we really are dwells. That’s why Jesus would one day say, “For the mouth speaks out of that which fills the heart. The good man out of his good treasure brings forth what is good, and the evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth what is evil.” (Matthew 12:34-35 ESV)
That’s why we would be wise to guard our heart with all diligence so that when the mouthpiece of our heart speaks, it speaks from a position of good treasure and not evil treasure. King Solomon also spoke to that life principle when he said, “Guard your heart, for from it flows the wellspring of life.”(Proverbs 4:23 NASB). A wellspring is the origin and bountiful source of something. That means it is in the heart and mind where all the issues of life originate. That is why we need to protect, maintain, and keep our hearts and minds secure like a soldier on watch would guard a gate into headquarters, or like a shepherd would tend his flock of sheep by protecting and providing for it. To guard and shepherd our heart and mind, we must keep both the bad out which attempts to get in, and kick the bad out that is already there. To do that we must correctly identify and properly label destructive thoughts and ways of thinking and feeling and then remove them from our lives.
So where should we start? Let me suggest a few initial steps:
- Decide that cleaning up your heart and mind is worth doing. After all, human nature is such that no one will voluntarily change his/her heart, mind, or behavior until the perceived payoff to be experienced will be better than the actual payoff he/she is currently getting.
- Determine a standard of truth and excellence by which thoughts will be evaluated and identified to be stinkin’ thinkin’ that needs to be removed if it’s already present in the heart, or refused entry if it’s trying to get in for the first time. One caution. Be careful how you decide on your standard of truth and excellence. Not all truth is equal.As an example of what I’m suggesting, one place we could start is with the “slop” we allow in our hearts and minds daily through our various online devices. That thought occurred to me as I reflected on Merriam-Webster Dictionary’s choice of “slop” as their 2025 Word of the Year. They define slop as “digital content of low quality.” Gene Barlow, the dictionary’s president said of the choice, “All that stuff was dumped on our screens, and the Word of the Year captured it in just four letters.”1
- Since nature abhors a vacuum, it’s essential that when stinkin’ thinkin’ is either removed or refused, we need to be ready to fill the vacuum with positive thoughts. Therefore, in place of the slop, let me suggest this: “Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.” Philippians 4:8 (ESV)
In closing, I want to share one additional insight. God has designed our lives such that the same ways by which we get to know another human – observation, discovery, and revelation – are the same ways we get to know Him. For example, Creation is the primary way we get to observe and discover God and some of His character. The Bible says in Romans 1:19-20, “ For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse.” Psalm 19:1-4 reinforces that truth when the Psalmist declares, “The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork. Day to day pours out speech, and night to night reveals knowledge. There is no speech, nor are there words, whose voice is not heard. Their voice goes out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world.” Paul and the Psalmist declare that Creation shouts God’s power, His God-ness, His creative genius, His attention to order and precision, and His personal care for those who inhabit His creation.
But observation and discovery are not sufficient to fully know God. They can only introduce us to Him. There must also be His revelation of His heart and mind. And He has done that. The great prophet Moses understood that truth as evidenced by this declaration to the people of Israel, “The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but the things that are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law.” The Bible teaches us that God has revealed much of Himself through His Word and His Son, Jesus the Christ. He has done this, not just so we can know about Him, but even more so that we can come to know Him intimately. If you not only want to know who God truly is, but also want to truly know Him, then receive His Son and dwell in His Word. And what time would be better than now to do that?
1USA Today, 12/19/25, p.A4
Recent Comments