why purity is hard

Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.

Matthew 5:8

These words that form part of the opening of Jesus’ sermon are powerful. And they are difficult to receive and live by. Consisting of just twelve syllables, they call us to the work of a lifetime. They have always been hard words to follow. And in current culture they are challenged in nearly every way possible. Those who wish to see God, to know Him intimately, will need to cultivate the heart purity that is theirs through the forgiving blood of Christ. But my own sin, my own culture, and Satan’s systematic ruining of the world all work against heart purity.

My own sin works against me. My own heart is predisposed against purity. I’ve had my struggles with the subject. Although raised in a Christian home in the 70’s and 80’s, the sexual revolution still had loud echoes in my life. And unfortunately, my teenage curiousities on matters of sex were too easily answered with sinful thoughts and actions. Like most in my generation, I developed a selfish personal view on these matters and like a good Pharisee of evangelical culture, outwardly spoke things considered pure, while in my heart I stoked fires of impurity. I missed truly seeing God as a result.

My culture works against purity. In my youth it was through the traditional media of books, magazines, TV, radio, music, and movies. Now the endless stream of unfiltered content in all that media that is available through the internet puts purity at risk in the hands of every kid with a smartphone. And to give in to cultural pressure is to miss seeing God. The world makes this so easy that it is almost impossible to find a person unaffected by it.

The devil always wants the worship that only God deserves. If he can use culture and technology to get that, he will do so. And he does. He successfully uses the lust of the eyes, the lust of the flesh, and the pride of life, served up by willing co-conspirators among us... even from our own hearts. This all arrives on glittering retina displays and stops people from seeing God.

The call from Jesus is to purity of the heart. This starts internally and affects us outwardly. Only by Jesus changing our hearts can we be pure in heart. The reward is intimacy with the Almighty. Will I believe this, fight my sin, my culture, and the devil’s own work to gain this reward?