It's easy to make an external show of purity. If I try really hard, I might be able to fool some people into thinking that I'm a "righteous" man. I can volunteer time and energy to helping others; I can give to the poor and needy; I can help little old ladies cross the street; I can bring my offering to church every Sunday; I can even stand up here and piously speak about Jesus, but He's the One who tries my heart (1 Chronicles 29:17-18); He's the One who knows the truth. I can polish and shine the outside until the cows come home, but He's looking at the inside of my cup (Matthew 23:25-28).

As Jesse's sons were gathered together at the feast, Samuel's eyes were drawn to the oldest, Eliab. He just stood out from the rest; tall and handsome; "so Eliab ("my father is God") must be the annointed one," Samuel thought. But God was quick to answer, saying, "(Samuel), Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused him: for [the LORD seeth] not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the LORD looketh on the heart " (1 Samuel 16:6-7). To Samuel, Eliab looked like a king, but God was looking at the inside, and it wasn't pleasing to Him.

When it comes to knowing the heart of any man, indeed we see "through a glass darkly" now (1 Corinthians 13:12), but God has given us great insight if we'll just read His word...

The Pharisees who were there derided Jesus for saying those words . They scoffed and turned up their noses at Him. You see, Jesus knew exactly who He was preaching to; He knew the Pharisees were trying to serve God and worldly riches at the same time, and we can see the proof of their guilt in their very reaction to His words. Why would any 'religious' group scoff at the saying that you can't serve both God and money, unless they disagreed with the teaching? For that one brief moment; in a single act of derision, the Pharisees' heart-of-hearts broke through all those outward religious appearances, and money was declared to be their God (Matthew 23:25)! A double-minded man is unstable in all his ways (James 1:8). They scoffed, and that blew their cover.

The first reaction is the one that betrays the heart; it's the instinctual one, the truthful one that just can't be suppressed; it gives away what we've been trying so hard to hide. It can be as quick as a blink across the eyes, or a fleeting facial expression, or what comes charging out of the mouth before the brain can kick in. It's those little details that reveal the truth of what's in the heart. We can try so hard to hide what we are on the inside, but sooner or later, somebody is going to see the truth. Well, God sees it all the time. He knows whether I'm serving Him, or serving myself. He sees my heart right now, and He sees your heart, too. We have to make up our minds about who we're going to serve, and settle it in our hearts. James 1:8 A double minded man is unstable in all his ways. If I think I can fool God, then I don't believe in Him.

In the course of this study, I lost track of how many times the Bible says our hearts need to be pure if we ever expect to see God. The first step is humility; admitting that I have a problem; recognizing that life is very short, but eternity is forever. When David said, "Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me" (Psalm 51:10), he was confessing that his heart was unclean. We tend to look at all of David's faults and compare ourselves to him, saying, "At least I haven't been as bad as he was." We won't get into that today, but you know, for all of David's faults, I don't think it can be said that He was one who lorded his righteousness over other people. When He was confronted with his faults, he listened. As the Proverb says, "A wise son [heareth] his father's instruction: but a scorner heareth not rebuke (Proverbs 13:1). We read that David was a man after God's own heart (1 Samuel 13:14, Acts 13:22), but nobody would say it was because David was perfect; I think it was because David listened to his father's instruction. What a contrast to the Pharisees! When Jesus rebuked their double-mindedness, they wouldn't hear any of it; they just scorned Him.

It's so much easier to live this life with a pure heart. Acts 15:9 tells us that faith purifies hearts. Romans 10:17 tells us that faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. John 15:3 tells us that we're cleansed by the words that Jesus spake. 2 Timothy 2:15 tells us there's no need to be ashamed; study in the word and put it to work.

That being said, having a pure heart doesn't mean things will always go your way...

It hurt, but it was OK with David. He prayed in Psalm 17:15, "As for me, I will behold thy face in righteousness: I shall be satisfied, when I awake, with thy likeness" (with seeing God's face).

It's enough to see God. It's more than enough. It's worth losing everything we have in this life, even life itself. The eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show himself strong on behalf of [them] whose heart [is] perfect toward Him (2 Chronicles 16:9), and His eyes are sweeping through this house today, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit (Hebrews 4:12). Thank Him today for making it possible; for being the One who cleanses, who purifies the inside of our cups.