Memory Monday: An Undivided Heart (Ezekiel 11:19)

I always make sure we have plenty of time when I take my youngest shopping. You see, she's a ditherer. She can't decide what she wants. Faced with more than one choice, it can take her 20 minutes to make up her mind. We have to weigh the pros and cons of each choice, then make a decision.

When it comes to shopping, my youngest has a divided heart. She doesn't want one thing more than she wants another, so it makes it difficult to make a quick decision. Her heart has to be persuaded to choose one thing over the other. She's always afraid the thing she didn't choose will turn out to have been the better choice.

Too often, we are just like my daughter when it comes to choosing God. There are so many things in the world that look better than what God is offering -- money, accolades, fitting in with the crowd. Our heart is divided. We want the things of God, but we also want the trappings of the world.

God wants us to follow Him with our whole hearts. He wants our undivided attention, so we can do the things He has planned for us.

Ezekiel 11:19 says "I will give them an undivided heart and put a new spirit in them; I will remove from them their heart of stone and give them a heart of flesh." God was talking about the Israelites who had let the things of the world tempt them away from God. They had broken their convenant with God, and God was about to let the Babylonians take them into captivity. Yet, God made this promise that the Israelites would once again follow after Him with an undivided heart.

That's what He wants from us as well. He wants everything we do to be based on following Him. While it's easy to be pulled away by the immediate gratification the world offers, the rewards God offers for following Him are so much greater.

We want to teach our kids to follow after God with an undivided heart as well. It's easy for kids to let their peers pull them away from God, to seek after the things of the world and not of God.

Illustrate a divided heart for your kids by offering them two choices. Make sure the choices are equally attractive to your child.

If your child has trouble choosing, talk about how they have a divided heart -- they want both things and can't wholeheartedly go after one or the other. Explain that God doesn't want us to have a divided heart when it comes to following after Him. He wants us to seek Him in everything that we do.

If your child chooses one thing quickly, talk about how they had an undivided heart. Their heart wanted only one thing. Explain that God wants us to have an undivided heart when we follow Him. He wants us to always choose His way just as quickly as your child chose the thing you offered.

A divided heart keeps us from following God. It distracts us from the plans God has for us. Ask God to help you and your kids to follow after Him with an undivided heart today.