Enemies of the Heart

by Andy Stanley

The heart is your central hub. Everything we experience is processed through our hearts, the good and the bad. Life comes at us from all directions, but it all gets channeled through our hearts. The heart seeps into every conversation. It dictates every relationship. We live, parent, lead, relate, problem solve, and love from the heart. Thus, the need to monitor our hearts is crucial. There are four primary enemies of the heart. They are guilt, anger, greed, and jealousy.

Guilt is the result of having done something we perceived as wrong. The message from a heart laden with guilt is “I owe.” How often do you think you owe someone an apology? The reason is simple we feel obligated. If we could wipe away guilt we could sleep better at night.

The second enemy is anger. We typically get angry when we don’t get what we want. What we may want also may include what we deserve. The root of anger is the perception that something has been taken. Something is owed to you. It’s easy to believe that the only remedy for our anger is payback. Unfortunately, in most cases, it’s our unsuspecting friends and family who we make pay. I know I have taken a lot out on my wife that wasn’t her fault. I’m sorry doesn’t cut it if you are saying it over and over. Be careful how you let anger build in your heart you can drive away the most important people in your life.

Greed says, “I owe me.” Bottom-line, greedy people believe they deserve every good thing that comes their way. Consequently, its hard to get a greedy person to part with money and stuff. Why? Because it’s theirs and they are scared.

Jealousy says, “God owes me.” We assume our problem is with the person who possesses what we lack. Afterall, God gave your neighbor a new car and a better home. Why didn’t He give it to you? It is hard sometimes to understand the why, but we must be thankful for what God has blessed us with.

What if we were committed to scrubbing our hearts clean? Imagine what would happen if we made up our minds to never let the sun set on our anger, our greed, our guilt, or out jealousy. What a better world we would be living in!