The phrase “pure in heart” as used in Matthew 5:8 means to have a heart that is free from corrupting influences, and single in purpose. In other words, one who is pure in heart has as their sole goal in life to be pleasing to God and to do His will in all things. Many times in scripture we read of the dangers of attempting to “straddle the fence” in trying to please God but at the same time trying to live as people of the world live. In Matthew 6:24 Jesus said, “No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other; or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.” In James 1:8 we read that a double-minded man is unstable in all his ways. And in Matthew 12:30 Jesus pointed out that we cannot be “fence straddlers” no matter how much we would like to be. “He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters abroad.”Divided loyalties make us unfit for the kingdom of heaven. In the book of Ecclesiastes Solomon, the wisest man who ever lived, explores what is good in life for man to do. After trying almost everything imaginable, Solomon concludes, “Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God and keep His commandments, for this is man’s all.” (Ecclesiastes 12:13).