Moment With Betty

Often times we hear people say, follow your hearts when counselling their clients or when advising a disturbed / confused person.  But the question is, can the things in the person’s heart be always right or sensible. Does it really align with what God wants for that person? The heart of a man they say “is evil” and some school of thought say that, “Our hearts are wicked by nature”.

Be that as it may, is it wise to advise someone to follow their heart? The idiom of following your heart is to do what one would really love to do. And sometimes what we want and what God wants are completely different. The heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked; Who can know it? – Jeremiah 17:9. This wicked nature of our hearts predates all the way back to the story of creation. Our hearts inherited a fallen nature when Adam and Eve ate from the forbidden tree. Despite God’s command in Genesis 2 when he said “You can eat from any tree in the garden, except from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. Don’t eat from it. The moment you eat from that tree, you’re dead.” You see God didn’t intend for man to know evil, He wanted our consciousness to be full of light. After all, we’re made in His image. God is perfect. Remember the wages of the sin is death and sin in itself is the root of darkness. But that doesn’t necessarily mean that sin comes in a dark, rainy cloud, sometimes it can look as shiny as the sun. Everything that glitters isn’t gold.

1. The heart can be easily deceived.

Deception can be masked and fabricated as the truth. It’s like buying fake jewelry that looks real, however your skin exhibits a green tint after wearing it. Though it shined like gold, it was simply just a cheap imitation. And that’s exactly what sin is, a cheap of imitation of God’s word.

In Genesis 3, the serpent disguised his lies as truth. “You will not surely die,” the serpent said to the woman. “For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil” – Genesis 3:4-5. Clearly this not what God promised for His word is absolute and without blemish. The serpent cunningly goes against the word by mixing God’s command with his false promises like water and oil. “Do not add to his words, or he will rebuke you and prove you a liar” – Proverbs 30:6.

2. Following your heart doesn’t always equate to following God.

Trusting your heart is another way of trusting self. We’re supposed to trust God and only Him. When Eve ate the fruit, she practically but her trust through the serpent to exalt herself above the Lord, our God. How can you follow the heart if it’s a part of the body? That means the two are divided, exclusive. The heart isn’t omnipresent, only the Holy spirit is. So if man chases the heart, what exactly is the heart chasing?  The heart chases the desires of the flesh which often desires what we don’t need. The flesh wants to feed the ego. The closer we fulfill ourselves with the heart’s desires, the further we distance ourselves from God, that’s why “being true to your heart” doesn’t simply work at times. It is wise to trust what God says about us more than what we think or feel about ourselves. After all He is the Creator and we are his creations. That’s why it’s vital to guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it. Remember the Lord wants our hearts so that our eyes can delight in His ways. The heart is the seat of life. It means mind, soul and spirit or one’s entire emotional understanding and nature.

3. Following our heart can lead us down a path of self-idolatry and pride.

Where does following our heart get us? It gets putting ourselves above The Most High. He who has a deceitful heart finds no good – Proverbs 17:20. Following your heart instead of God leads to rebellion, disobedience, and pride. “The LORD detests all the proud of heart. Be sure of this: They will not go unpunished” Proverbs 16:5. God resists the proud. Lucifer also tried exalting himself above God and fell out of from heaven. In Luke 10:18 Jesus says, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven.” The destiny of the proud is the opposite from the vision they have for themselves. Pride goeth before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall, Proverbs 16:18. “For those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.” Matthew 23:12.

4. Our hearts are supposed to follow God, not self.

Thankfully, God blessed us with a Second Adam in His son Jesus who is the sole reason of our salvation. Through Him we are saved. Imitate me, just as I also imitate Christ – Corinthians 11:1. The Prince of Peace is our example. He obeyed God, the father, his heart was always aligned with God’s plan. He chose God’s word over his hunger when he was tempted in the desert. He chose God’s will instead of his human emotions just days leading into his ultimate sacrifice. “Abba, Father, all things are possible for you. Remove this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will” Mark 14:36

God wants our hearts to choose Him and obey his word. A cheerful heart is like good medicine. It exudes happiness, healing and purity. We must have the desire to become pure to cultivate it into reality. The beauty of God is that He meets you where you are. So my brothers and sisters ask for forgiveness and repent. Like a heart surgeon, the Lord will fix us from the inside out. God will give you a new heart if you allow Him to transform you. Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me – Psalm 51:10. Blessed are the pure in heart for they will see God – Matthew 5:8. Because of Jesus’ sacrifice we are created anew. Ask God to transform your stiff neck into a bending one, one that bends to His will. Lord help us open the eyes of our hearts so that we may see the hardness of it and allow you to soften it. You said you will give us a new heart if we give it to you. And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh, Ezekiel 36:26.

Humans plan their course, but the Lord establishes their steps. Because of the heart’s deceptive ways, it’s easy to stumble or walk off the path. There is a way that appears to be right but in the end, it leads to death. What are the wages of sin? Death. The fall of Adam purchased death through sin while the rise of Jesus paid for our sins.

It’s important that we trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on our own understanding. God wants us to develop a heavenly mindset. Since, then you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. My brothers and sisters instead of following your heart, let your hearts follow God. Amen.