Jeremiah 17:9; Proverbs 28:26
Introduction:
1. This modern proverb shapes the thinking of masses of people today.
2. From kids’ clothes to popular movies to award acceptance speeches to religious sermons, this pithy statement is everywhere in our culture.
3. What does a Christian make of this wildly popular notion?
Discussion:
I. Various Iterations of the Phrase
A. “There are no rules. Just follow your heart” (Robin Williams).
B. “Sometimes you just have to follow your heart, no matter the consequences” (Unknown).
C. “I always believed that when you follow your heart or your gut, when you really follow the things that feel great to you, you can never lose, because settling is the worst feeling in the world” (Rihanna).
D. “If it feels good, do it, even if you shouldn’t…” (Sloan).
E. “Follow your heart. Trust that it will lead you to where you are destined to be” (@MWF Motivation).
II. The Heart Defined
A. “Inner man, mind, will, seat of appetites, emotions, passions” (BDB).
B. “Denoting the seat of emotion (1 Samuel 2:1; John 16:6, 22), desire (Psalms 37:4; Romans 1:24), thought (Genesis 6:5; Mark 2:6, 8), and decision (1 Chronicles 12:38; 2 Corinthians 9:7).” (Mounce)
III. The Heart Described
A. Following our hearts grounds our decision-making processes in what feels good or right to the individual.
B. At its core, this produces a friction between the rational and emotional elements within each person.
C. The trouble is our hearts are often self-deceiving:
1. “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; who can know it?” (Jeremiah 17:9).
2. “This is an evil in all that is done under the sun: that one thing happens to all. Truly the hearts of the sons of men are full of evil; madness is in their hearts while they live, and after that they go to the dead” (Ecclesiastes 9:3).
3. “But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full grown, brigs forth death” (James 1:14-15).
4. “For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lewdness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness. All these evil things come from within and defile a man.” (Mark 7:21-23).
D. With such potentialities in our hearts, we clearly need to follow something other than our hearts.
IV. Hearts Worth Following: Reshaping Our Hearts
A. We were created in the image of God, meaning our inner being (heart) was originally patterned after His heart (Genesis 1:26-28; 9:6).
B. The fall distorted our hearts (Genesis 3; 6:5; Romans 5:12).
C. This causes us to be adrift when following our own hearts:
1. It is not in us to direct our own steps; we need the Lord’s righteous correction to guide us home (Jeremiah 10:23-24).
2. Rather than lean into our own understanding, we must trust in the Lord with all our hearts and let Him guide our steps (Proverbs 3:5-6).
3. Trusting our own hearts is the antithesis to wisdom (Proverbs 28:26).
4. We must relinquish our self-described wisdom if we hope to obtain the wisdom of God (1 Corinthians 3:18-20).
D. Only the Lord’s discipline can drive out the folly that is bound up in the heart of a child after our fall from grace (Proverbs 22:15; Hebrews 12:10-11).
E. The good news of God’s grace is that He will give us new, purified hearts capable of following Him if we turn to Him (Psalms 51:10; Jeremiah 32:39; Ezekiel 11:19-20; 36:25-27; 2 Corinthians 3:18; 5:17).
Conclusion:
1. At its core, this philosophy creates friction between the rational and emotional elements within each person that should not exist.
2. This discussion is in no way meant to deny the legitimate role emotions play in our walk with the Lord (Luke 19:41; John 11:35).
3. It is intended to motivate us to follow the truth no matter how it makes us feel (Matthew 16:21-23; Acts 21:10-14).
4. Where this philosophy says, “I feel, therefore I know,” the Lord would have us feel because we know (John 8:31-32).