Heart Condition – Titus 3:2

To malign no one, to be peaceable, gentle, showing every consideration to all men.

Our worst relationship reveals the condition of our heart.  If just one person provokes us to malice or hatred, our hearts have a hardened area, one harboring sin.  As Christians, we are without excuse for hard-heartedness, and we do well to confess our failure to love and to repent of it.  For we, who have received the kindness of God in the person of Jesus Christ, ought not to give ugliness and ungodliness a dwelling place within us.[1]  We need to step once again into the purifying fountain of grace and allow the Holy Spirit to wash and sanctify us in the name of our Lord.[2]

We have no occasion for bitterness and sustained anger, not one, for the Lord has delivered us from these robbers of our peace, and He has called us to holy and blameless lives, to be without spot or wrinkle.[3] No offence against us, however cruel or painful, provides us with an excuse for once again taking up the yoke of bondage after Jesus Christ has freed us by His sacrifice.  Though the champions of darkness would surround us, supporting us in our bitterness, justifying us in our antipathy, we can find no justification for it in the teachings of our Lord, who calls us higher, lifting us above the pollution of sin.  He empowers us to set aside the destructive way of vengeance and anger, while taking on Christ’s nature, as one being renewed by the knowledge of God.[4]

Hardness toward another person pierces our own souls, making us foolish and ignorant, no better than wild animals before our Lord.[5]  Therefore, do not enter into sin’s trap as it beckons you to indulge in anger, malice, hatred, and bitterness.  Turn it away at the threshold of your heart, and bolt the door against it.  Rather than associating with it, walk with your invited and welcomed guest, Jesus Christ, along the path of understanding, forgiveness, and righteousness.  Set your spirit free to enjoy His nearness, and make Him your refuge against the enemy’s assaults, which he uses to lure you out of your safe haven into the darkness.  Allow the Lord to transform you and give you a heart of purity, kindness, and love, so you will at last know how beautiful are they whose lives reflect the tender and gentle character of Christ.[6]

[1] Titus 3:3-5

[2] 1 Corinthians 6:11

[3] Ephesians 5:27

[4] Colossians 3:9-10

[5] Psalm 73:21-22

[6] Isaiah 52:1