Ask ten people what sin is and you’re likely to hear about the ten commandments, the words God wrote with His own finger on the tablets of stone on Mount Sinai. If you’ve spent any time at all in church you could list behaviors considered sinful; cheating, stealing, sex with someone not your spouse. But if you’ve ever tried to stop sinning, you know trying harder to stop your bad behavior doesn’t work very long.

In a sense the whole Old Testament is the story of God’s people failing to stop their bad behavior. As much as God tried to warn them, they kept messing up. Are we today really any different? In light of Jesus coming to earth it became so clear that God was about much more than right behavior; He cared first and most about matters of the heart.

But that creates a problem. Or more correctly, it highlights our problem as being much deeper than we thought. Though created in the image of God, our hearts have all become messed up – wounded, twisted, contaminated. As we come to see sin as much more than bad behavior, it all comes down to who has your heart.

So what do we do with our messed up hearts?

Who Has Your Heart?

From the beginning of history God has cared most about the heart of His people. As John Eldredge writes, “Adam and Eve kicked off the honeymoon by sleeping with the Enemy. Then comes one of the most poignant verses in all Scripture: “What is this you have done?” (Gen. 3:13). You can almost hear the shock, the pain of betrayal in God’s voice. The fall of Adam and Eve mustn’t be pictured as a crime like theft, but as a betrayal of love” (The Sacred Romance).

Much of the Old Testament is the story of the people of Israel, God’s people, following Him for a while, and then turning away like a serial adulteress. God’s heart is breaking – not primarily because of specific acts His people do, but because they are turning their hearts to other gods, lesser lovers who look shiny for a moment and always let them down.

I’ve wondered at times why God called David, a man who committed adultery, rape, murder, and more, “a man after my own heart” (Acts 13:22). The various kings of Judah are described as someone who did, or did not do, “that which was right in the sight of the Lord” – and bad behavior is recorded for both groups. What makes the difference? I came to see that for David and for the other kings, the difference was not primarily their good or bad behavior; the difference was whether they whole-heartedly worshiped Yahweh. The distinction was who had their heart.

So, who are you worshiping? Who has your heart?

Our Real Problem

Let’s say you’ve decided to follow Jesus. You’ve given your allegiance to Him. Hallelujah!

Then why do you still find yourself struggling with so much “stuff?” Anger, fear and envy keep cropping up. Bad behavior patterns or addictions rear their ugly heads. The devil finds plenty of reasons to taunt you; are you even a Christian?

If sin is primarily certain acts we do, behavior management should work. Ask God to forgive you for the bad stuff you’ve done, and He does. And from then on, just don’t do certain things and you’re OK.

But that perspective leaves you frustrated or completely discouraged when you don’t feel forgiven, or when you keep struggling with your “stuff.” What am I doing wrong? Why isn’t God helping me? Is there some irredeemable flaw in me that makes me beyond God’s reach? That’s the kind of thing Paul wrestles with; “Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?” (Romans 7:24).

Our problem is much deeper than acts that we do or don’t do. As Jesus said, “Out of the heart” comes all the stuff that keeps getting us in trouble (Matthew 15:19). Behavior modification doesn’t take care of our insides, the neural pathways we were born with, and those we also built through our sinful responses to how we’ve been sinned against.

We need new DNA, a new nature, a heart transplant.

The Real Solution

Since our problem is deeper than just our behavior, the cure must be deeper than behavior modification also. How do we get there?

Most important, God has promised us that heart transplant. “And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules” (Ezekiel 36:26-27). That new heart is the only way we can ever hope to behave differently.

If you haven’t yet asked Jesus for that heart transplant, do that right now! “Jesus, I need You! I’ve messed up, and I can’t do this on my own. Come in and change my heart. I choose You as the One who I will forever love, believe, worship, and follow.”

And then, remember that you can’t transform yourself, but you can “choose this day whom you will serve” (Joshua 24:15). You get to decide on a daily basis who you will love, believe, worship, and follow. You might not be tempted by idols of wood and stone, as the ancient Israelites were. But you might be tempted by money, success, or people’s approval. You might even be tempted to make “good” things such as marriage, children, or Christian work your idol.

When anything other than Jesus has your deepest allegiance and fondest affection, you’re in danger. Worshiping anything other than Him is really what sin is all about. That doesn’t mean you don’t invest deeply in your family, your vocation, or your church. It does mean that the only One whose opinion you care about most is His.

Letting Him In

You don’t get to that place by trying harder. Remember, you can’t transform yourself. But you can – and must – keep putting yourself in the places where the Holy Spirit can do His transforming work in you. Jesus asks to come in; He doesn’t force Himself. He stands and knocks (Revelation 3:20).

And you daily have the choice to open the door to the deepest places in your soul to Him.

That’s how you stop your bad behavior and become the person God originally created you to be.

Your Turn: Have you found yourself weary in your struggle to stop your bad behavior? How does looking at the problem as deeper than specific acts change your perspective? What does it feel like to consider, who has your heart?   Leave a comment below.

Want More? On the podcast this week I talk with Troy and Melinda Haas about the long but satisfying process of change from addiction and brokenness.  Listen or watch.

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• If sin were about stopping your bad behavior, then behavior modification should work. But it doesn’t. It’s much more about the answer to the question, Who has your heart?  Tweet that.

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