Blessed are the Pure in Heart

There's something many of us fear, I think. I'm not talking about the unknown or the unexpected tragedy. I'm not talking about roller-coasters or spiders. Here's my hunch: many of us fear being pure in heart. For some reason, "pure in heart" is recognized as a nice ideal, but not something people actually want to be.

We associate it with moral purity or "perfection" and resist it at nearly every turn. We resist it in our estimation of ourselves, insisting that we're not perfect and we speak dismissingly of it, "I'll never be that. I'm too (fill in the blank)." I think this is shorthand for saying, "I really don't want to give up this certain characteristic that may not be aligned with "pure in heart." Or we're afraid of what others will think and say if we are pure in heart. We're afraid of how they'll treat us differently, and that matters to us. Perhaps more than pursuing God's kingdom and his righteousness. We're afraid of what we'll lose out on; we actually like our dead human selves a little bit, and we're afraid that being "pure in heart" will ruin that.

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Let me start with a thought: what if "pure in heart" is not code for morally "perfect"?

Let's begin with the idea of "heart." Commonly in Jesus' context, the heart was understood as the center of life. It's not simply where the feel-good feelings or the bad emotions come from as might be common today. It is a word that communicates the idea of the center of a person. Everything flows from the heart. It's the source from which our decisions, our motives, our actions flow. As Jesus says, "Out of the heart come evil intentions" (Matt. 15:19). The heart is about more than a feelin' (Sorry, had to do it. I'm a Boston fan).

Look at these passages:

Matthew 9:4: “Why do you think evil in your hearts?”—the heart is the source of mental activity/thought. Not just emotion.  

Matthew 12:34: “Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.” –the heart is the fount of our words.

Matthew 15:18-19: "Out of the heart come evil intentions”—source of all motives, for evil and good.  

There are many others. From these passages, what do you conclude about “heart”?

The "heart" is the center of all things--our mental activity, our words, and our actions and motives. The heart is "ground zero" of the human life. There is no such thing as a heart/mind duality. It's all about heart.

The “pure in heart” are those who are pure in their innermost core. Not just “nice.” Not just “morally upright.” Not just a “do-gooder.”
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Ok. What's it mean to be "pure" at this level of the center of all life?

According to the early church African theologian Augustine, this purity is about singleness of want to know and love them. Period.
It is to act with singular, undivided motive. It means that when I help someone, it is not for any other reason than to genuinely help them. It's not to be noticed. It's not to win that person's favor. When I reach out to meet someone new, it's not because knowing them might be advantageous to me. It's simply because they are another person made in the image of God and I want to know and love them as that.

Jesus seems to move in this direction later in the Sermon on the Mount when he talks about praying, fasting, and giving to the needy in Matthew 6:1-18. When you pray, don't try to impress. In fact, just go in your room where no one will see or hear you're theologically wonderful prayers. When you fast (or do any other spiritual exercise, for that matter), don't subtly point it out so others know and are impressed with your spirituality. When you give, don't even count the money. Just give it. To the poor. Who can't repay you. Do it so that even your alter ego does not know how giving you are.

Pure in heart. Another way to put it might be "singleness of my innermost intentions behind all that I say and do." It almost always has to do with how we relate to others. And it should always be inner intention that aligns with Jesus' mission.
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I don't know about you, but if this is what pure in heart means (which is very much seems to be), then I think I just lost my theological balance a bit. It's not about "moral perfection." It's not about not ever having "bad thoughts" (Jesus talks about that elsewhere, though). It's not something to be afraid of. Pure in heart means that completely sincere motives for all my actions is an important part of what the life of Jesus' kingdom is all about. Think about when you had consistently sincere motives for your actions--toward your spouse, your kids, your co-workers. I can't say that I pass. I'm not sure any human does.

Why does singularity of motive in all we say and do matter? Maybe it's because when (not "if") I'm not pure in heart, when I have ulterior motives for something I do, even if I might consider them "well-intentioned, it shows that I'm still being driven by my selfish old humanity. To be pure in heart means that there's no other motive for being poor in spirit, meek, or merciful than simply to be poor in spirit, meek, and merciful. This sort of purity of heart takes me yielding to God. Again, "poor in spirit" seems to lead the charge, as it seems to me that if I'm poor in spirit, then I have no reason for having ulterior motives for my actions--no striving after something else.

There’s still an unanswered question, and it’s quite important. 

With what should we align our singularity of intention of our deepest, innermost source of our thoughts, words, and intentions?

Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz is “pure in heart” to be sure! His purity of heart is aligned with the mission of Starbucks.

When Jesus says “blessed are the pure in heart,” there’s something he’s not saying, but that is vital to not misunderstanding this statement or confusing it with general blah moral goodness.

It’s this: the righteousness of the kingdom of heaven.

Take a look at the story in Matthew 9:10-13. Read this as an example of the “righteousness of the kingdom” being lived out in Jesus. What is he doing here, and what are the Pharisees having trouble with?

What if “pure in heart” means having our innermost motives singularly aligned with what Jesus is doing in this story?

Or what if “pure in heart” means having our innermost motives singularly aligned with what the rest of the beatitudes are getting at? How does this affect how you think about “pure in heart” and how you live it out?

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It's the ones who are "focused singularly from their innermost core on the kingdom of heaven" who will see God. Somehow it clouds our vision of God if we're duplicitous in motive, if we're in part for the kingdom but in part for something else. We will end up serving only ourselves and our own desires. The things we do, the people we serve, turn out to only be a means to an end--a selfish end.

The Bible is clear that no one can ever "see" God. So, this promise likely is a to-be-fulfilled-in-the-afterlife sort of promise. And this reinforces the importance of a genuinely changed life for those who claim to follow Jesus. If Jesus paints a picture of the way of the kingdom here, and those who claim Jesus as Lord and follow him daily are the people of his kingdom, then "pure in heart" must be something that comes to characterize me--us--as we daily take up our crosses in discipleship.

But there's another take on this. Some ancient theologians talk about the "beatific vision." By this they mean something like beholding the beauty of God as Jesus manifests himself in our lives in the present life. When we genuinely serve and lay down ourselves for the good of others--especially our enemies--for no other reason than to serve them, the experience is such that God is "seen" by both the doer and recipient of the act of God's love and mercy. I've seen God in this sense. I'm sure you have, too. Not in me, but in children who genuinely reach out to people without regard for who that person is or what they will get out of the encounter.

If this understanding of "seeing God" has any merit, then there is a significant implication. The tangible experience of God is not to be sought or found in moments of grandeur. It is to be sought and found in simple, even "mundane" actions for others that flow from a purity that considers the good of the other an end in itself.
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Think, Talk, Apply

How easy is it to have double motives for our actions--to not be pure in heart? Can you identify things you've done or said recently that fall into this category?

How have you experienced purity of heart, in yourself or in others? Think on this. These are moments, according to Jesus, when we're open to experiencing God.

How might it look to organize your life around "pure in heart" as one of the Beatitudes that give a picture of Jesus' kingdom life? What impact might this have on those who know you and your family?