Who or what we are today is a result of a process. Our lives are a series of attitudes, reactions and behaviors; some good, but some maybe not so good.

Society or culture is defined by certain lifestyles that have been and are developing. What if we evaluate our lives and do not like who we are and where we are? What do we do? How can we change?

We can work on behavior modification; that is, try to condition ourselves to react and act in certain ways that meet criteria. That is hard work and, as good as we do, we can make one slip-up and find ourselves back at the bottom of the hill.

The Bible, the word of almighty God, gives great insight as to how to live.

The writer of the Old Testament book of Proverbs tells us in Chapter 4, Verse 23, “Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life.”

Everything we are and do comes from our heart. The heart is our inner most being, the very core of who we are. Our heart was shaped by past life experiences and input. That is why we are what we have been becoming. Our attitudes and reactions spring from our core values, which is our heart.

If our heart was shaped by input and circumstances, our heart can change or be changed. The writer of Proverbs exhorts us to guard our heart or protect it from wrong influence.

The word of almighty God must be the grid we pass everything through. The word of God is divine; it is alive. We read in Hebrews 4:12 that “the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.” There it is … the grid, the guideline! The word of God can form our values, revise our core and plot our course. The Word of God not only judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart, it also gives us the right answer and the grace to live it out.

The question is, “Which comes first – the good heart or the good behavior?” The answer is both. We are born into a fallen world; our hearts are corrupt. Only God can change our heart through the power of the gospel of Jesus Christ and the work of the Holy Spirit. We look at our lives and realize we are not who we want to be, we cry out to God, and he by his mercy and grace intervenes to save us, giving us a new heart and his Holy Spirit to instruct us and guide us in our lives (John 16:13).

Once God is in our life, there is a process whereby he lovingly begins to change our heart through the word of God. He corrects, he instructs and if we commit to walk with him, our heart will change and subsequently our life will change.

We are what we have been becoming. We will be in the future what we begin to work on right now.

The Rev. Dan Puckett is a minister with Life Action Ministries.