Don’t Follow Your Heart, Get a New One!

A popular philosophy that runs through many pop songs and movies is the idea that one should follow his or her heart. But is there a better way?

The story line of many feel-good movies often goes like this: A girl (or a guy, for that matter) is unhappy in life, and a friend or family member advises her to follow her heart. Afterwards, she finally goes after the relationship, job or whatever she has been wanting but denying herself. It ends with her living “happily ever after.”

Does it really work that way? Is this good advice? It does seem like we would know better than others what would make us happy, doesn’t it? After all, we know ourselves pretty well, right?

But God says something different and shockingly counterintuitive. Jeremiah 17:9 says, “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; who can know it?”

That’s a shocking statement! Let’s break that down. The heart is:

• Deceitful—causing us to trust ourselves and thus believe or see things inaccurately.
• Wicked—perhaps by prompting us to make choices motivated by selfishness, which can often hurt others—and ourselves.

And on top of that, this scripture asks, who can know it? In other words, we do not always really understand our motivations and inner intentions. We should also remember that it is not just our heart alone that produces deceit and wickedness, Satan and his influence play a major part in influencing our heart towards deceit and wickedness (2 Corinthians 4:4, Ephesians 2:2).

If not the heart, then what?

If relying on just oneself is such an untrustworthy guide for our future course of action, where do we turn for direction that will lead us to a fulfilling and joyful life? The answer is that we need to start with the One who can and does know our heart.

The Bible tells us that God knows “the hearts of all” (Acts 1:24). He also knows exactly what we need (Matthew 6:8)—what is best for our physical and spiritual well-being. After all, He did create us. So, rather than following our heart, we should diligently study His Word to understand what He has to teach us on every type of choice we may face. With God’s help, we can begin to know our heart and more accurately evaluate where it is leading us.

Practical keys to following wisdom—not our heart

The Bible reveals that the opposite of “just follow your heart” is “trust in the LORD with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding” (Proverbs 3:5).  Here are some practical keys to fulfilling this in our lives. When faced with a decision, we can:

• Pray for God’s guidance, believing that we will receive it. When making major and minor decisions, we must practice faith. Hebrews 11:6 teaches us that we must “believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.” God’s rewards are not necessarily grand prizes of wealth or fame, but He will reward us with exactly what we need in life and will answer our prayers according to His will.
• Study the book of Proverbs, which is a rich source of practical guidance.
• Do a topical Bible study on a particular issue to seek out the principles that we can apply in the situation we are facing.
• Seek wise counsel from a variety of sources (Proverbs 15:22). Seeking a wide variety of counsel can help us make good decisions. The successes and mistakes of others can be valuable resources as we weigh the pros and cons of a decision.
• Fast to humble ourselves and seek the will of God (Ezra 8:21).

Is the heart completely irrelevant?

Does all this mean that our heart is irrelevant and should be stifled or ignored? No, actually the heart is a very important subject to God. Ultimately, it is His desire that our hearts no longer be deceitful and wicked as described in Jeremiah 17:9. But, for that to happen, He must give us a new heart! Christians are to have a new heart that has the law of God written on it (Jeremiah 31:33; Ezekiel 36:26).

That means our heart is to reflect God’s law. The more His law is written on our heart, the more our natural inclination will be to make decisions that are wise and pleasing to Him! Growing to the point where our heart reflects God’s attitudes and desires is a lifelong process. Along the way, we’ll have to make many decisions that are different from those our feelings would have led us to make.

Following God and developing a “new heart” will be much more difficult than following our own heart. But doing this will lead us to better decisions and a more joyful and fulfilling life.

Jennifer Cox is a member of the London, Kentucky, congregation of the Church of God, a Worldwide Association. She is a 2013 graduate of Foundation Institute.