From the Inside Out
Psalm 55:10
“It’s walls are patrolled day and night against invaders, but the real danger is wickedness inside the city.”
When I read this verse I felt like the Lord gave me so much more out of it than David just talking about his enemies attacking him.
Everyday as Christians we are on guard as to what is going on in the world and spirit so we are not tempted, lied to, or tricked by the enemy. We keep on watch and we choose not go certain places, say certain things, watch certain shows etc. Yet where the true danger is, isn’t the pull of the world, but rather the wickedness right within our very own hearts. Our own fleshly desire that grows deep down in our hearts is where the true hazard is.
What is trying to attack the city on the outside is menial because the walls can withstand it, but the true trouble and ultimate demise is what happens within the walls of the city. It’s easier to break something and watch it crumble from the inside out. In this instance the city is our very own hearts.
Proverbs 3:27 says, “For as a man thinks in his heart, so he is.” In other words, the things you don’t even say but think is what/who you are. Those are your TRUE colors; what comes from inside of you. And the thing most dangerous and destructive to you is that heart right inside of your own body.
Don’t fool yourself in continuing you are being obedient to Christ because you didn’t go and tell tell somebody they are a jerk, or talk behind their back…..maybe you didn’t say it out loud but did you think those thoughts? How does that make your heart any holier than someone who does say the things they are truly thinking/feeling. If anything you are just a coward now. The point is not that you say or don’t say, do or don’t do something. The point is that the thought is already there in your heart and head, and according to Christ if we even think it, we have already committed the sin in our hearts (Matthew 5:28). That is why it is so important to do what the Lord tells us in 2 Corinthians 10:5 which says, “ take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.”
All in all, I’m not writing this to condemn anyone. Instead I want to help open your eyes like the Lord has opened mine. Instead of placing the blame on everything around me, I’m looking within my own walls into my heart and fighting against my own flesh to serve the Lord has humbly and as holy as possible. I want protect the city/heart from things that try to make me stumble on the outside and my own flesh and wickedness on the inside.
