It is the heart...
It is the heart. The heart is what matters. We spend so much time and money on the body, the external, the view others see. We can polish up the outside and have everything looking perfect when the inside is rotting and decaying. The heart is dying. The world/Satan pitches in to help attacking us from all sides with the message of "conform or be castout". Sellout. "Just swear your oath to the king and we'll end the pain". When a man sells out - his heart dies. When a man accepts mediocrity and slumps into his lay-z-boy with a beer to dull the pain - his heart dies. When we dream great dreams and then say..."one day..." - a part of our heart dies.

But this isn't really what I want to talk about.
I have seen three incidents lately that speak to the heart.

I see a church of a friend at war with itself. Sides are being taken. Horrible things are being said. People are willing to "draw blood". Over what? "Things aren't the way they used to be, too much is changing." Nevermind that great things are happening for the kingdom - people are being saved, families are being healed, and even the budget is balanced. But oh no, folks are willing to totally rip the church apart due to egos, turf and control. The outside looks great but the heart is rotting and the damage could be catastrophic.

I see a school that is pretty on the outside. Beautiful new buildings are being built. Great things are being trumpeted about. The message is captivating. But parent after parent is beginning to say the same thing - "I wonder if anyone over there really cares about my child?" It is the heart. The outside is pretty but the heart is hurting. I sat with a mom this morning and she described the battle her 9th grade son is facing. He is an exceptional - I mean truly exceptional - student and athlete. As she described his struggles in the classroom and on the playing field, she burst into tears and she said "I just get the feeling none of them care - truly care - about my son." There are some sub-par teachers, counselors and administrators going through the motions working 8-to-4 with absolutely no passion for making a lifelong impact on children. But to the public, the message is "this is a truly outstanding place". It isn't the facade, it isn't what you say...it is the heart.

I see a business where the manager has done everything possible to pretty the place up. New carpet, new paint, new furniture, new sidewalks, new signs, bottled water and starbucks coffee. The "bling" is all there. The package looks about as pretty as it can. Yet, the heart is hurting. The people working there feel like "no one cares about me". The manager spends no time one-on-one with his people. He has made no effort to understand them or their business (the businesses that produce his paycheck). He cares about the external appearance but the business he is there to run is rotting beneath him and he doesn't even know it.

If you want to set the world on fire, if you want to change people's lives forever you go to heart. You can have the most outstanding school on earth in simple butler buildings if you get the heart right. A church can move mountains if it has the heart right and it doesn't need a $40 million campus to do it. A business can prosper and flourish as never before if it gets the heart right. It is the heart. Get the heart right and prepare to soar.

Soar!