Do you know when it’s easiest to litter? Perhaps when no one else is watching. But it’s even easier when there is already a lot of litter lying around. We reason that one more piece will not make a difference. Even if someone sees us, we can point to the ground around us and we claim to have an excuse.

This revelation came to me when I saw the litter lining a main street of Maputo in Mozambique, Africa. Bordering the tarred road on each side is a wide stretch of beach sand and then a line of shacks selling pineapples and cashew nuts. The road was busy with traffic in both directions, and the sand was covered in litter: mainly flattened plastic bottles and broken bits of glass. As an outsider I was shocked. I am not sure whether the locals even noticed it anymore.

There is a psychological phenomenon called the Broken Window Theory. Imagine some children break a window while playing ball in a neighbourhood. If this window is not replaced, vandals may break more windows. Graffiti artists may add their touches. If the building is unoccupied, squatters may eventually move in. This decline can be avoided by fixing the broken window right away.

I was witnessing the effects of the Broken Window Theory in Mozambique. It started with a little bit of litter. As the amount of litter grew, people thought less of adding to it. Eventually it was too overwhelming to do anything about and so it became accepted as the way things are in that part of the city.

I think it’s the same with our hearts. We let one little part of our heart get hard by holding onto a grudge or refusing to apologise for something. We get used to holding onto unforgiveness, and we start to justify our actions. Soon enough, there’s a whole lot of “litter” in our hearts and it feels overwhelming. We may even stop noticing it anymore and think it’s normal.

People do not actively decide to harden their hearts. We do it as a protective measure, because something hurts. It hurts to be called ugly. But instead of hardening our heart, Jesus taught us to forgive. By forgiving the person who called us ugly, we refuse to accept their words as truth, but we also get to keep a soft heart. Repentance softens our hearts, as does praying for people, blessing them, and serving.

Just like picking up litter, it takes intentional action to care for our hearts. We are the groundsmen and women of our hearts. We are responsible for picking up the litter: for doing something about it when we recognise our hearts are becoming hard over an issue. The Holy Spirit is a great partner who will point out the hard places if we ask Him.

The Christian walk is an ongoing intentional journey. We seek God. We partake in community life. We turn our hearts toward God over and over again. We must do this repeatedly, because our hearts inevitably get wounded as we go through life. Only in ongoing communion with God can we successfully keep our hearts soft. Ask God to show you the condition of your heart. He will equip you with all that you need to soften the hard places He points out.