The condition of our heart determines our behavior. Just as your heart contains four chambers that work together to pump blood throughout your body, let me suggest four spiritual chambers that work together to comprise what the Bible refers to as our “heart.”

ATTITUDES. Our attitude is what we think about others, our circumstances, and ourselves. Our presuppositions, expectations, and agendas determine who we are. Proverbs 23:7 – As a man thinks in his heart so he is.

ASPIRATIONS. What do you want out of life? What do you passionately pursue? What do you value? We are told to first and foremost seek Christ’s kingdom and righteousness, but don’t we often find other things to pursue? Like leisure, fame, possessions, relationships, security? The list could go on forever. But what we treasure is a clear indication of where our heart is. At least, that’s what Jesus said.

AFFECTIONS.  We often exclusively correlate the heart to the emotions. God is emotional, we read about Him loving, hating, grieving, laughing, and crying. We are created in His image and share the capacity to feel. The question arises . . . WHAT moves us? What makes us laugh or cry, rejoice or grieve? What we long for is an indicator of the condition of our heart. If we have made Him our delight, then He gives us the desires of our heart.

ACTIONS. Who ascends the hill of the Lord? He who has clean hands and a pure heart. (Psalm 24:3-4) There is the connection between the purity of our hearts and the appropriateness of our actions (clean hands).

These four spiritual chambers reflect the condition of our heart.

If God were to do a spiritual heart catheterization on you today, what would He find?

How can we be more “heart healthy”? Guard what goes in and stays in these four chambers. Check our attitude, submit our aspirations to God’s agenda, long for Christ preeminently in our lives, take care how we live.