On the Heart of the Matter

My mind is on the heart today.

May is a month for confirmation and graduation. Many young people wonder what they will do with their lives. For me several decades after such graduation moments, it makes me think of what I have done with my life, and what I will do with the rest of it. These are weighty questions, and I hope among those we ask our young people.

May is also the month for Mother’s Day, a day when our thoughts to family. Too often, we take family granted. We know we have been selfish. We complain about our roles and tasks in the family while we have been ungrateful for how it has benefitted our lives. All families need some reconciliation and forgiveness. We can understand how Anna M. Jarvis (1864-1948) gave everyone at the memorial service of her moth a carnation to honor the mother she loved. We can also understand how her suggestion to the nation that we honor mothers so quickly gained in popularity that Woodrow Wilson and Congress agreed in 1914 to set aside this day in May. In fact, we have a whole week of celebrating the family. When we think of family, I hope we think of matters of the heart and the people who matter to us. We do not want supermom. We do want the presence and love moms can give. Some people need healing in the relationship with mom. At this stage of my life, I reflect not only upon my mother, but also on the women who today have been wonderful examples of Christian life and faith.

We need to get to the heart of the matter, which is something like what the Bible means when it refers to the heart.  What are the things that matter to you? What ought to be the core beliefs and values that guide my life? What will I do with my life in terms of a vocation? Most of us want our work to be something we genuinely enjoy and toward which have some passion. What is that for me, at this stage in my life? Such questions deal with the heart spiritually, and a good response will have a positive influence upon your whole life.

            Such spiritual questions are weighty.

Many people today are quite health conscious today. I became somewhat that way in college, and have listened to what I thought was good advice over the years. Eat well. Exercise regularly. Your heart is an important muscle. I guess the point of all this is to care for the heart, and you will care for your whole body.[1]

All of this stimulated some thinking on my part about preachers and teachers within the Christian tradition referring to the “heart.”

Just as we can do things that endanger the heart physically, we can do things that endanger the heart spiritually. It will threaten your ability to be a follower of Christ. Medicine has been helpful in saying that proper diet and exercise will be the type of self-care you need for a healthy physical heart. Being a follower of Jesus addresses the heart of the matter spiritually.

What I want us to focus upon is what we can do to heed this command of Jesus: Do not let your hearts be troubled.

Let us be honest: Is it even possible, as follower of Jesus in an extremely screwed-up world, to heed his command and have an untroubled heart? Really?

I have come across a few bits of wisdom about worry. 

I have developed a new philosophy. I only dread one day at a time. -Charlie Brown.

As printed in a church bulletin: Don't let worry kill you - let the church help. 

Some suggestions on how to keep from worrying:

Drag your thoughts away from your troubles ... by the ears, by the heels or any other way you can manage it. -Mark Twain.
For peace of mind, resign as general manager of the universe.
-Author unknown. 

These words are some wise counsel for gaining perspective on what worries us.

---

[1] The basis of my concern today is a few articles I came across recently. The Mayo Clinic has some simple advice regarding a healthy heart: eat well and exercise regularly. You need both. You cannot compensate for a bad diet by exercising more. I have jokingly said that I like to run in order to eat the desserts I like. Well, a health person on television this week said the body does not work that way. The point is, you really need both.

I have come across many statistics. I will not bore you with them. Here are a few. In 2006, 631,636 people died of heart disease. Heart disease caused 26% of deaths—more than one in every four—in the United States.¹ White people die of heart disease at a greater rate than either African-Americans, Asians, or Native Americans. Death rates due to the heart are highest in Mississippi and lowest in Minnesota. Lowering cholesterol and blood pressure levels can reduce all forms of heart issues. The greatest risk factors involve inactivity, obesity, and high blood pressure, while smoking and high cholesterol are lower on the list. Finally, you put yourself at more risk when you do not eat breakfast. I have never been one regularly to skip breakfast. A bowl of cereal or something simple is usually enough. Sometimes, I get a treat with bacon or sausage and egg. Sometimes, I make my own buttermilk pancakes. Who knows, I may have gotten it from my mother. The first thing Mom would do early in the morning is have her coffee, cereal, and her cigarette.