(The following was originally published at CareyGreen.com)
In Matthew 5:8, Jesus tells us:
“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.”
What does it mean to be “pure in heart” and how does it relate to doing business as a Christian?
I think that what Jesus is getting at here is a very core principle – not just for business people, but for life. You see, the Bible also tells us that our hearts are deceitful and desperately wicked above all things (Jeremiah 17:9). So, a pure heart is something we can receive from God and God alone through Jesus Christ’s glorious life, death and resurrection. By repenting and turning away from your sin and giving the Holy Spirit the “steering wheel of your life”, you have the opportunity to have that glorious life within you, which produces a pure heart.
So, in Matthew 5:8, Jesus is telling us that one of the most important things in life is to maintain the pure heart that He has given us. We do this by spending time with Him each and every day, and reminding ourselves of what God says is true of us.
It’s in that way that we “see God”. It’s not necessarily just in the hereafter. It’s also here in this life. We can see God at work all around us when our hearts are aligned with His. In business, this means that we should start each day by aligning our hearts with His.
The problem is that as human beings, we leak. We leak faith. We leak vision. We leak purity. We simply leak. We need to take the time every day to realign our hearts with God, to renew our minds about the pure heart that Jesus has given us through His death and life. We need to hit the “reset” button every day so that we can see what God is doing in our life and business and join Him to accomplish the purposes He has in mind.
Take a minute or two to reset your mind and heart, to realign with the pure heart that Jesus has given you. That might be through a short but meaningful time of confession and repentance. It could be through filling your mind with truth from the word of God, so that you can move forward with your beliefs in line with His.
Whatever it is that you need to do to reengage with that “pure in heart” self that Jesus has provided you, please don’t move forward with another responsibility in your day until you’ve done it.
When you do, you will be able to see God throughout your day, just as Jesus promised in Matthew 5:8. You will see His guidance. You will be able to follow Him to where He wants you to go in your business… and in your life.