Luke 16:14-15
Easy-to-Read Version
God’s Law Cannot Be Changed
14 The Pharisees were listening to all these things. They criticized Jesus because they all loved money. 15 Jesus said to them, “You make yourselves look good in front of people. But God knows what is really in your hearts. What people think is important is worth nothing to God.
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Hello, this passage is so interesting to me I read the question and instantly wanted to give an answer to it. I think life is interesting and know for a fact that people have a personal interest in each other. I remember when people loved to follow me even though you could tell they did not understand one thing going on, pretty much misunderstood everything. But even so they loved to know my business and what I was doing every minute of the day. It really bothered me at first, I had no privacy, but I realized that they meant no harm to me but a habit they formed. God is not like that God looks at people but not in the same way. No one gets offended when it may be very clear that God was obviously watching you and your affairs. It does not appear nosy or disrespectful to constantly looking into people's business.
The intelligent way of understanding people and their desires is one of God’s trademarks. In the passage above it is not so hard to understand the thoughts of the Pharisees, why? Because they are criticizing Jesus it is easy to see the nonsense in their head. Jesus talks common sense about money, and they look down on it simply because they LOVE money and did not agree with him. It could also be because Jesus was not dressed up as they normally are and was a simple man, his characteristics were different than theirs so they thought he could not understand money. Let's see what the Bible says about knowing people's hearts.
1 Samuel 16:4-10
Easy-to-Read Version
4 Samuel did what the Lord told him to do and went to Bethlehem. The elders of Bethlehem shook with fear. They met Samuel and asked, “Do you come in peace?”
5 Samuel answered, “Yes, I come in peace. I come to make a sacrifice to the Lord. Prepare yourselves and come to the sacrifice with me.” Samuel prepared Jesse and his sons. Then he invited them to come and share the sacrifice.
6 When Jesse and his sons arrived, Samuel saw Eliab and thought, “Surely this is the man who the Lord has chosen.”
7 But the Lord said to Samuel, “Eliab is tall and handsome, but don’t judge by things like that. God doesn’t look at what people see. People judge by what is on the outside, but the Lord looks at the heart. Eliab is not the right man.”
8 Then Jesse called his second son, Abinadab. Abinadab walked by Samuel. But Samuel said, “No, this is not the man who the Lord chose.”
9 Then Jesse told Shammah to walk by Samuel. But Samuel said, “No, the Lord did not choose this man, either.”
10 Jesse showed seven of his sons to Samuel. But Samuel said to Jesse, “The Lord has not chosen any of these men.”
1 Chronicles 28:9-10
Easy-to-Read Version
9 “And you, my son Solomon, know the God of your father. Serve God with a pure heart. Be happy to serve him, because the Lord knows what is in everyone’s heart. He knows what you are thinking. If you go to him for help, you will get an answer. But if you turn away from him, he will leave you forever. 10 Solomon, you must understand that the Lord has chosen you to build his holy place—the Temple. Be strong and finish the job.”
2 Chronicles 6:28-31
Easy-to-Read Version
28 “The land might become very dry so that no food will grow on it. Or maybe a great sickness will spread among the people. Maybe all the food that is growing will be destroyed by insects. Or your people might be attacked in some of their cities by their enemies. Or many of your people might get sick. 29 When any of these things happen, people feel the need to spread their hands in prayer toward this Temple. 30 Please listen to their prayer while you are in your home in heaven and forgive them and help them. Only you know what people are really thinking, so only you can judge them fairly. 31 Do this so that your people will fear and respect you all the time that they live in this land you gave to our ancestors.
Proverbs 15:11
Easy-to-Read Version
11 The Lord knows everything, even what happens in the place of death. So surely he knows what people are thinking.
Acts 1:23-26
Names of God Bible
23 The disciples determined that two men were qualified. These men were Joseph (who was called Barsabbas and was also known as Justus) and Matthias. 24 Then they prayed, “Lord, you know everyone’s thoughts. Show us which of these two you have chosen. 25 Show us who is to take the place of Judas as an apostle, since Judas abandoned his position to go to the place where he belongs.”
26 They drew names to choose an apostle. Matthias was chosen and joined the eleven apostles.