A divided heart

Today: 2 Kings 9-11

Have you ever had a divided heart?

I'm not talking about being divided over the smaller things like "Coke or Pepsi?" or "Superman versus Batman?" (Right answers: Coke and Superman...in my opinion anyway.) :)

In reality, having a divided heart can be a very tough thing. If you're wrestling between two (or more) life-changing options, it's not always easy to make a decision. We sometimes make things more complicated by giving part of our hearts to one thing/person...and part of our hearts to something/someone else. That half-hearted giving and half-hearted love defines a heart divided.

When I started reading today's passage, Jehu might have been the last guy in the world I would have described as half-hearted. He was so passionate about carrying out God's purpose that he massacred followers of Baal. He tore down shrines to idols. That's why I was surprised to read this:

Even then, though, Jehu wasn't careful

to walk in God's ways and honor the God of Israel

from an undivided heart.

He didn't turn back from the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat,

who led Israel into a life of sin.

This description intrigued me. It didn't say Jehu was bad to his core. It said that he wasn't careful. It said he didn't honor God from an undivided heart. Translation? He sorta served God...and sorta served other stuff. But "sorta serving" doesn't work in God's book...because "sorta love" isn't love at all.

Tomorrow: 2 Kings 12-14