Heart in the Bible

I've been reading a book about emotional health in the church.  Truthfully, I did not want to like this book.  The first time I picked it up, it was with rolling eyes.  After all, if we focus on doctrinal beliefs and how to apply those to our everyday actions, isn't that what really matters?

As it turns out, no, that is not all that really matters.

The Bible talks a lot about the heart.  For example, the Sermon on the Mount is filled with "You have heard it said [behavior], but I tell you [about the underlying heart issue]."  It addresses such topics as worry, grief, and anger.  Paul's famous description of love in I Corinthians 13 includes many feeling words.  And, of course, the Psalms give voice to a tremendous variety of human emotion.

Scazzero's writing has been challenging me quite a bit lately.  My tendency, like many in the Church, is to focus on intellect and behavior while neglecting the heart.  But to refuse to bring my emotional side to God for examination is to make a part of myself off-limits to God, closing myself off to His sanctifying work.