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Quote of the Day: What Lies in the Human Heart
On our best days, we like to think of the heart as the repository for our love and affection. It connects us to others, and as it deepens in quality, it builds relationships. Our heart swells when we fall in love, and that love fills our souls. The more we love in healthy connections, the happier we are and the more we have to offer to the people around us.
Unfortunately, the heart can also be a haven for darkness and evil. Instead of nurturing love, there are those who feed hatred and violence. Their souls are filled with resentment and the need to punish those whom they feel have deprived them of meaningful lives. And often a purposeful life is only acquired through the destruction of those they hate. As Rabbi Jonathan Sacks says:
The greatest weapon of mass destruction is the human heart.
As we follow the war between the Israelis and Hamas, it is difficult for many of us to imagine hating so deeply that human life is regarded as worthless; that killing babies will contribute to a person’s path to heaven; that beating and shooting others who do not practice their faith will please their G-d. And yet they seem to thrive on meeting their goals and cannot be deterred until they reach them.
Still, I personally choose to foster love to those around me.
May my heart be a haven for good, not evil.
Published in Group Writing
So true.
So glad to know that another of us feels the same way.
Susan, just from your writing, your heart clearly seems like a haven for good, not evil.
In these times, for our hearts to remain a haven for good we must be determined to fight a war to victory over the forces of evil. Our love demands that those who are consumed by a hate that motivates unspeakable acts must be destroyed. Love does not ask someone to live next to genocidal maniacs.
Weak men have certainly made hard times. I’m praying for the victory of strong men so good times may return. To get there, however, we will have to go through some dark days and that’s when keeping our hearts a haven for love will be a challenge. Clinging to God is our only hope to prevail.
One of the great recurring themes of the account of king David is the condition of the heart. One can read through the books of 1 & 2 Samuel and find references to the heart all through them. David is described as the man after, or according to, God’s heart. When evil is done, some are advised (wrongly in most cases) to not take it to heart. Absalom, it is said, stole the hearts of the men of Israel in his insurrection against his father, king David.
There are many more references to the heart in Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and Deuteronomy. One of my favorite verses is Proverbs 4:23:
Keep your heart with all diligence, For out of it spring the issues of life.
What a beautiful comment, St. C. And you bring tears to my eyes with your opening kind words. We also must support each other when the evil forces threaten us, when we feel discouraged, and that’s one reason I’m on Rico. Thanks so much.
Lovely, Joel. There are some who attack the Jewish writings, focusing on the violence and wars. But you are so right–the Jewish writings give us many opportunities to reflect on love and our relationships. Thanks.
“Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men? The Shadow knows!” – spoken by actor Frank Readick
So beautifully said! Thank you !- we all need this reminder daily. Sometimes mere annoyances and doubts can turn into bigger irritations and it all goes downhill from there – The Hamas conflict – there are no human words worse enough to describe it – so holding our hearts close to God is the only answer – God bless!
Thanks, FSC.
“the line dividing good and evil cuts through the heart of every human being”
–Alexandr Solzhenitsyn, The Gulag Archipelago
Human beings are both unique individuals and at the same time wrestle with the same things. And those things wrestle with us:
Who am I? Where do I fit in? What is the meaning of things? Am I good enough? Maybe I am not loveable.
Good and evil are in there too, in each of us. I don’t think we can have one without the other in this world. The knowledge that we can be hurt is also the knowledge that we can hurt others. To me, seeking the suffering of others is an act of evil. But we do this when we, ourselves are suffering. We do this, sometimes, because it brings us joy.
People fail the task of choosing good daily. Mostly, however, they don’t.
Let’s not forget words from Ecclesiastes (3:8), authored by Solomon, the wisest of men:
“A time to love and a time to hate.”
Very good point, Joshua. We can’t ban hate anymore than we can ban evil. The key is not to let the hate be all-consuming. Think of Cain.
I have been thinking a lot about Cain since 10/7. It seems to me a thriving Israel is Abel, and she is surrounded by a world of Cains.
I’d use Ishmael and Isaac, but yes, Cain did actually kill Abel.
Perhaps: “What Lies in the Subhuman Heart.”
I literally wrote an essay on that subject. Dr. Bastiat liked it alot for what it was worth.