The demand for offering a broken heart and a contrite spirit is different than

the precursor requirement set forward by the Law of Moses. In fact, in many ways it
is more difficult, yet deeper and more meaningful. The obvious difference is that
one is more tangible, especially in terms of conduct. The Law of Moses dealt with
minimum requirements that, if met, would reward the individual with blessings.
However, this meant that it was entirely conceivable for an individual to fulfill the
physical requirements without ever modifying their inner character.
This became a major issue for many individuals, especially evident around
the life of Christ. Many individuals within the church had become more hypocritical
than ever before. This meant that individuals held fulfillment of formal requirements
in higher regard than personal conduct and inner character. When the Lord came,
He ruled the Law of Moses to be obsolete, and instituted a higher law. This law dealt
more with the sanctification of ones inner character, as ones inner character would
help define his/her conduct.
The requirement of a broken heart and contrite spirit are actually two
separate requirements, even though they may sound similar. When we look
individually at the two, we can see that one has to do with the physical, while the
other deals with spiritual changes. If we consider the implications of such a concept,
we may conclude that this commandment reflects the need to unify the will of the
body and the spirit, with humility being at the center of this change. While they both
deal with feelings of sorrow and remorse, there is one key difference between them.
A broken heart signifies damage. When one considers the concept of
brokenness, they consider actual injury, impairment, wounds, and loss. As far as the
heart is concerned, this has a connotation of an injurious relationship, or perhaps
even a broken one. This seems like an odd request of an individual who deeply
desires that we have a good personal, frequent, and even intimate relationship with
Him. However, God asks this of us. I believe the key to understanding this
requirement lies in the second.
A contrite spirit doesnt quite signify damage. Instead, it demands remorse
more than required reparation. It is interesting that God requires that our physical
selves be broken while our spirits remain whole, but remorseful. To me, this implies
that our physical relationships be placed secondary to those of the spirit. Our hearts
represent desire, and most often in the physical sense. If we are to consider that the
Lord wants us to lay up our physical desires and sacrifice our physical relationships
to not only social cohorts but also tangible treasures and possessions, it may be
easy to see how it signifies a broken heart. A contrite spirit, however, gives no such
feeling of physical detachment. Instead, it signifies a sort of attachment, but to
spiritual things. Contrition signifies remorse and a resolve to repair relationships. It
has a connotation of an apologetic attitude. This is fitting, as one with this attitude
is one with whom the spiritual relationship is the priority.
I can remember a time when this exchange came to the forefront of my
personal pursuit. I was on my mission, and after quite some time in the MTC, I found
myself in the field. I was placed on a remote island in the south pacific with a native
companion. I did not feel very comfortable at all with either of the new languages

required of me. I felt inadequate due to my personal physical ability to serve the
people. However, as I grew spiritually, I learned that I needed to detach my own
self-expectation from the physical capabilities, and rather focus solely on Gods
expectation. I found that the Lord enriched my own physical ability to serve and
accomplish, despite never truly changing my conduct nor actions. My ability in the
languages grew more slowly than did my spiritual resolve. As my capabilities grew, I
noticed that I once again began to rely more heavily on my physical capabilities.
This pattern has continued even up until now.
The Lord expects that we trade the physical requirements for inner character.
As we focus on that which is inside, we begin to naturally empower our outward
conduct. As we forget our physical capacities to accomplish our duties but attempt
them anyways, our spiritual capacities will fill in our weakness, bringing us closer to
God and our own personal desires.