WHAT IS IMPORTANT?

For Ezra had set his heart... Ezra 7:10a

If something is important enough to you, you will find a way to accomplish it. Let’s say you have irrefutable evidence that there is a treasure chest with several million dollars in jewelry in your backyard. You would probably stop at nothing to dig up every last square inch of your yard until that chest was found. Why? Because that amount of  money has great value to you.

For Ezra, the most important thing was knowing Yahweh’s law. He “set his heart” to know it. The word “set” is the opposite of something that is flimsy. It speaks of strength, durability, and longevity. It speaks of a heart that is unwavering in its commitment to know God. Applied to us today, such determination is especially necessary because there are many things which, through constant battering, try to compel us to waver – not the least of which can be our own deceitful hearts. Solomon wisely warned, “Guard your heart with all diligence” (Proverbs 4:23).

The classic example in Scripture is Daniel. Through no fault of his own Daniel found himself captive in the foreign culture of Babylon, surrounded by all kinds of temptations and facing three years of indoctrination in pagan thinking. Yet Scripture says of Daniel that he “set in his heart that he would not defile himself” (Daniel 1:8). Daniel was unwavering. He had studied enough of God’s Law to know what was expected of him, and he was going to do it. He knew that to compromise in the slightest amount at the beginning could lead to compromising on larger things later. He, like Ezra, had his priorities right. What things are most important to you?

Philip Moeller