Kye "K" Chung

So good … the line that struck me the most is … I have a tendency to focus on what I’m producing rather than what is being produced in me. That’s a tension in what I do on a daily basis, because I’m producing so many things. This is a great heart check for me.

I have a friend who, every so often, asks me the question I least want to answer and most need to answer. For a private and closed-off person like me, it’s the best and worst question:

How’s your heart?

I don’t know how he knows to ask — maybe he knows we have a lot in common or he just senses it. I don’t know how he chooses his moments, but it’s always at the right time.

It happened again yesterday morning in a text message.

How’s your heart?

I love it. I hate it.

I answer honestly … eventually. But first I have to resist the urge to placate him with my usual evasive garbage. You know, something like, “Everything’s good, man. Thanks for checking in!”(Full disclosure: Most of my exclamation points are disingenuous.)

This question — How’s your heart? — reminds me of a powerful talk I heard Jud Wilhite give last week at Catalyst Dallas. Speaking to 3,500 church leaders, Jud said this phrase again and again:

“Your calling before God is not to a spectacular ministry, but to a faithful and sincere heart.”

If I’m honest, I have a tendency to focus on what I’m producing rather than what is being produced in me. And even though he’s a well-known pastor, Jud could cop to the same tendency. That’s why the question my friend asked me is so vital and life-giving — it beckons me to return to the inward work of cultivating a faithful and sincere heart in relationship with God.

So, how’s your heart?