The word “heart” has a different connotation in Hebrew. For us it is the seat of affection. But for the Hebrews it is understood as the “inside” of man. Apart from feelings, it contains memories and ideas, plans and decisions. Jesus Christ points out that real evil comes from the heart. From it comes wickedness such as violence, murder, and adultery. These are the things that defile a person. Yet the heart is the place where God dialogues with man and man with his own self.
We have the capacity of deception, our external deeds are contrary to the reality of the heart. This is called duplicity in the Bible. We placate God through empty and external worship but our hearts are far from Him. But God cannot be deceived. Man looks to appearances but the Lord sees the heart. External religion is not enough, there should be a heart that is well disposed to love God and to pardon his brother.
