In ancient thinking, the “heart” was considered a person’s core—the source from which flowed all thoughts, words, and actions. In Matthew 5, Jesus emphasizes that life in God’s kingdom requires radical transformation and continual reshaping of our hearts so that we cultivate a profoundly different way of life—one that’s invitational and beneficial to the world (vv. 14–16).
Some of us would consider some of the commandments and conclude that we have never been guilty of committing such offenses against God and against our fellow man. Certainly, we could conclude that we have never killed anyone or that we have always been faithful to our spouse. However, when we consider what Jesus says about the condition of the heart and that if we have even harbored anger or hatred towards another person than we have essentially murdered them, and if we have even looked at another person with lust in our heart for them, we have committed adultery, now we are not as innocent as we once thought.
Too many times, when it comes to our shortcomings, we feel that if we never act on the thoughts that enter our heart and our mind that we are then without sin. What we must understand is that every thought and word said under our breath is known to God and is an offense to Him. As long as we harbor these things and never come clean with them there is a barrier between us and God, therefore the sooner we confess these things, both to God and to the person that we have offended, the sooner we can experience the grace and forgiveness of God at work in our lives.
Scripture reference is Matthew 5:21-30