My Heart's One Desire is to be ... ?

Are we good or are we bad? What's the state of the human heart? I'm fed up with Christians suggesting goodness of heart, that "God will look on our hearts" as if that were a good thing.

I put this together whilst preparing children's work on Mark 7:1-23.

In summary, there are 16 mentions of the heart in the ESV, of which 14 reflect a use of the Greek kardia. Of those 14, three set the high standard of heart-faith or heart-love Jesus expects, and all the rest are negative comments on the state of the human heart (although one of these 11 negative comments comes in the probably non-Markan conclusion). The heart is a well of sinfulness (Mark 7) and hardened against the Gospel (most mentions in Mark).

Here are all the mentions:

(Mar 2:6)
Now some of the scribes were sitting there, questioning in their hearts,
(Mar 2:8)
And immediately Jesus, perceiving in his spirit that they thus questioned within themselves, said to them, "Why do you question these things in your hearts?

A practical example of hardness of heart.

(Mar 3:5)
And he looked around at them with anger, grieved at their hardness of heart, and said to the man, "Stretch out your hand." He stretched it out, and his hand was restored.

Another practical example of the hardness of human heart.

(Mar 6:50)
for they all saw him and were terrified. But immediately he spoke to them and said, "Take heart; it is I. Do not be afraid."

A positive encouragement, but the word "heart" does not appear here in the Greek.

(Mar 6:52)
for they did not understand about the loaves, but their hearts were hardened.

Another practical example, and again, hardness.

(Mar 7:6)
And he said to them, "Well did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written, "'This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me;

Jesus is expositing Scripture, but applies this text as a description of the reality of the Pharisaic heart.

(Mar 7:19)
since it enters not his heart but his stomach, and is expelled?" (Thus he declared all foods clean.)
(Mar 7:21)
For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery,

Jesus explains the condition of the human heart. It is not affected by such externals as food. No rather evil wells up inside it.

(Mar 8:17)
And Jesus, aware of this, said to them, "Why are you discussing the fact that you have no bread? Do you not yet perceive or understand? Are your hearts hardened?

Jesus asks concerning the state of the disciples' hearts, saying that they seem to be hardened.

(Mar 10:5)
And Jesus said to them, "Because of your hardness of heart he wrote you this commandment.

Jesus describes the state of Pharisaic hearts, yet also the hearts of all those for whom Moses wrote the law in question in Mark 10: hard.

(Mar 10:49)
And Jesus stopped and said, "Call him." And they called the blind man, saying to him, "Take heart. Get up; he is calling you."

Although the ESV uses the word "heart", it does not appear in the Greek.

(Mar 11:23)
Truly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, 'Be taken up and thrown into the sea,' and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says will come to pass, it will be done for him.

Jesus challenges us to heartfelt faith: this verse does not describe a person present in the discussion, except possibly by implication Himself, rather it sets a standard.

(Mar 12:30)
And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.'
(Mar 12:33)
And to love him with all the heart and with all the understanding and with all the strength, and to love one's neighbor as oneself, is much more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices."

These two verses belong together in the same conversation, and indicate the high standard Jesus sets.

(Mar 16:14)
Afterward he appeared to the eleven themselves as they were reclining at table, and he rebuked them for their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they had not believed those who saw him after he had risen.

Even if we do not regard these verses as part of the original Gospel of Mark, they show what its first readers thought would be an appropriate ending to what they thought an incomplete Gospel: a rebuke to the hardness of the hearts of the disciples. After all, it is a repeated theme.