Start With the Heart
.png)
Start With the Heart
Start With the Heart
Start With the Heart
A pure heart leads to consistent intent, feelings and actions. A confused or clouded heart leads to duplicity, misalignment, and inconsistency in thoughts, feelings, and actions. As leaders, we all want to grow to be more consistent in order to make a significant difference in the lives of others.
A pure heart leads to consistent intent, feelings and actions. A confused or clouded heart leads to duplicity, misalignment, and inconsistency in thoughts, feelings, and actions.
In his book The Advantage, Patrick Lencioni says,
[.indent]"Anyone who has ever worked in an unhealthy organization—and almost everyone has—knows the misery of dealing with politics, dysfunction, confusion, and bureaucracy.[.indent] [.indent]The financial cost of having an unhealthy organization is undeniable: wasted resources and time, decreased productivity, increased employee turnover, and customer attrition.[.indent] [.indent]When leaders of an organization are less than honest with one another, when they put the needs of their departments or their careers ahead of the needs of the greater organization, when they are misaligned, confused, and inconsistent about what is important, they create real anguish for real human beings. And they experience that anguish themselves too."[.indent]
Inconsistent leadership starts at the heart. The heart is the spirit and the will of a person. When a person has their heart set on temporary things or when their heart is unsure, the result is inconsistent desires. Leaders who don’t know what they want, end up wreaking havoc on the people and organizations they serve.
Does talking about the heart as the guiding center of a person seem soft or intangible to you? Great leaders often refer to the heart this way:
“Have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.” –Steve Jobs
"You will never reach your destination if you stop and throw stones at every dog that barks.” –Winston S. Churchill
As leaders, we all want to grow to be more consistent in order to make a significant difference in the lives of others. So, how can we go about renewing our hearts so that our will, thoughts, feelings, and daily actions have the same aim? How can we obtain a pure heart?
A Pure Heart
“The greatest need you and I have—the greatest need of collective humanity—is renovation of our hearts. That spiritual place within us from which outlook, choices, and actions come has been formed by a world away from God. Now it must be transformed.” - Dallas Willard
“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.” - [.no-reftag]Matthew 5:8[.no-reftag]
A pure heart is a blessing — a gift from God — that allows us to trust in God with all of hearts, minds, souls, and actions. God grants pure hearts to those who seek Him. Even the ability to ask and seek a pure heart is a gift from God. After King David's most notable moral and leadership failure he prayed this way to God.
For I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me. Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight; so you are right in your verdict and justified when you judge. [.no-reftag]Psalm 51:3-4[.no-reftag]
Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. - [.no-reftag]Psalm 51:10[.no-reftag]
Just like with David, God gives His people the inclination to seek a pure heart. And when you ask Him, He will grant it. (Matthew 7:7-8)
.png)
A pure heart starts by opening your spirit to God’s Spirit, and it’s God’s Holy Spirit that changes your heart and confirms you are His child (Romans 8:15-16). From that starting place, your mind, actions, and interactions will all be renewed.
Growing Desire
How do you know if you have one? A pure heart loves God, and loves people. A pure heart desires God more and more and even becomes like Him. A pure heart can’t wait to see God face to face!
Does this mean you will be perfect? Of course not, but the pure hearted person’s life will have an organic growth trajectory toward the things of God.
Tim Keller explains the organic growth is way,
[.indent]“You become a wiser person as the years go by, deeper, happier and sadder at the same time. More tenderhearted, more sensitive to other people at the same time. Happier yourself, more able to admit you're wrong, tougher and more tender at the same time. You know more. You grow in grace. You grow in spiritual life. You grow in spiritual character.”[.indent]
Consistent Actions
Jesus is the only perfectly pure hearted person to ever walk the planet. This was a great advantage to Him. He did everything on purpose. Of course, He knew the end results and He knew people’s hearts. So, can we really be expected to try to emulate a perfect person?
The answer is, yes. Jesus passes the advantage of His purpose and the Holy Spirit to us (John 20:21-22). He wants us to lead and love others the very same way He loves us (John 15:17). If we do this we will have a renewed impact on families, friends, coworkers, business and faith-based organizations.
- Organizational Health - With renewed hearts, we can give consistent direction at work without being concerned about lesser agendas. We can consider the needs of teammates and help make sure they are valued and included in the work that best suits them.
- Create Clarity - With our purified hearts, we can help our entire organization seek clarity — even a renewed purpose. We can influence the value and help the entire organization act more for the flourishing of our customers and community.
- Over Communicate Clarity - A pure heart tends to say the same things in lots of ways. As we consider the needs of all of our constituents we can make sure we communicate simply and effectively.
- Reinforce Clarity - With pure hearts, we will want to ensure our plans, projects and systems all work together toward our stated goals and responsibilities. A pure heart wants to grow, so we are open to feedback from everyone so we can improve.
Let’s keep asking God to purify our hearts, so that we can grow in the way we serve everyone around us.
Resources:
Article: Hunger and Thirst for More – Much More | Howard Graham
Article: Mercy Hydrants | Howard Graham
Book: The Advantage | Patrick Lencioni
Book: Renovation of the Heart | Dallas Willard
Sermon: Blessed Are the Pure in Heart | Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones
A pure heart leads to consistent intent, feelings and actions. A confused or clouded heart leads to duplicity, misalignment, and inconsistency in thoughts, feelings, and actions.
In his book The Advantage, Patrick Lencioni says,
[.indent]"Anyone who has ever worked in an unhealthy organization—and almost everyone has—knows the misery of dealing with politics, dysfunction, confusion, and bureaucracy.[.indent] [.indent]The financial cost of having an unhealthy organization is undeniable: wasted resources and time, decreased productivity, increased employee turnover, and customer attrition.[.indent] [.indent]When leaders of an organization are less than honest with one another, when they put the needs of their departments or their careers ahead of the needs of the greater organization, when they are misaligned, confused, and inconsistent about what is important, they create real anguish for real human beings. And they experience that anguish themselves too."[.indent]
Inconsistent leadership starts at the heart. The heart is the spirit and the will of a person. When a person has their heart set on temporary things or when their heart is unsure, the result is inconsistent desires. Leaders who don’t know what they want, end up wreaking havoc on the people and organizations they serve.
Does talking about the heart as the guiding center of a person seem soft or intangible to you? Great leaders often refer to the heart this way:
“Have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.” –Steve Jobs
"You will never reach your destination if you stop and throw stones at every dog that barks.” –Winston S. Churchill
As leaders, we all want to grow to be more consistent in order to make a significant difference in the lives of others. So, how can we go about renewing our hearts so that our will, thoughts, feelings, and daily actions have the same aim? How can we obtain a pure heart?
A Pure Heart
“The greatest need you and I have—the greatest need of collective humanity—is renovation of our hearts. That spiritual place within us from which outlook, choices, and actions come has been formed by a world away from God. Now it must be transformed.” - Dallas Willard
“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.” - [.no-reftag]Matthew 5:8[.no-reftag]
A pure heart is a blessing — a gift from God — that allows us to trust in God with all of hearts, minds, souls, and actions. God grants pure hearts to those who seek Him. Even the ability to ask and seek a pure heart is a gift from God. After King David's most notable moral and leadership failure he prayed this way to God.
For I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me. Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight; so you are right in your verdict and justified when you judge. [.no-reftag]Psalm 51:3-4[.no-reftag]
Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. - [.no-reftag]Psalm 51:10[.no-reftag]
Just like with David, God gives His people the inclination to seek a pure heart. And when you ask Him, He will grant it. (Matthew 7:7-8)
A pure heart starts by opening your spirit to God’s Spirit, and it’s God’s Holy Spirit that changes your heart and confirms you are His child (Romans 8:15-16). From that starting place, your mind, actions, and interactions will all be renewed.
Growing Desire
How do you know if you have one? A pure heart loves God, and loves people. A pure heart desires God more and more and even becomes like Him. A pure heart can’t wait to see God face to face!
Does this mean you will be perfect? Of course not, but the pure hearted person’s life will have an organic growth trajectory toward the things of God.
Tim Keller explains the organic growth is way,
[.indent]“You become a wiser person as the years go by, deeper, happier and sadder at the same time. More tenderhearted, more sensitive to other people at the same time. Happier yourself, more able to admit you're wrong, tougher and more tender at the same time. You know more. You grow in grace. You grow in spiritual life. You grow in spiritual character.”[.indent]
Consistent Actions
Jesus is the only perfectly pure hearted person to ever walk the planet. This was a great advantage to Him. He did everything on purpose. Of course, He knew the end results and He knew people’s hearts. So, can we really be expected to try to emulate a perfect person?
The answer is, yes. Jesus passes the advantage of His purpose and the Holy Spirit to us (John 20:21-22). He wants us to lead and love others the very same way He loves us (John 15:17). If we do this we will have a renewed impact on families, friends, coworkers, business and faith-based organizations.
- Organizational Health - With renewed hearts, we can give consistent direction at work without being concerned about lesser agendas. We can consider the needs of teammates and help make sure they are valued and included in the work that best suits them.
- Create Clarity - With our purified hearts, we can help our entire organization seek clarity — even a renewed purpose. We can influence the value and help the entire organization act more for the flourishing of our customers and community.
- Over Communicate Clarity - A pure heart tends to say the same things in lots of ways. As we consider the needs of all of our constituents we can make sure we communicate simply and effectively.
- Reinforce Clarity - With pure hearts, we will want to ensure our plans, projects and systems all work together toward our stated goals and responsibilities. A pure heart wants to grow, so we are open to feedback from everyone so we can improve.
Let’s keep asking God to purify our hearts, so that we can grow in the way we serve everyone around us.
Resources:
Article: Hunger and Thirst for More – Much More | Howard Graham
Article: Mercy Hydrants | Howard Graham
Book: The Advantage | Patrick Lencioni
Book: Renovation of the Heart | Dallas Willard
Sermon: Blessed Are the Pure in Heart | Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones