April 15, 2015
Shane Pruitt is a husband, a father, a pastor in Rowlett, TX, and a speaker for camps, conferences, DNows, etc. He also writes about Biblical truth and culture at alreadyam.com.
"You just need to follow your heart!” How many times have we been given this statement as a piece of good advice?
Culture tells us this is the ultimate determiner in making decisions: “What is your heart telling you to do?”
In seeking out help, wisdom and guidance, we’ll speak to loved ones, people we look up to and respect, or even professional counselors, and all the conversations end with the same sort of counsel: “At the end of the day, you just need to do what your heart tells you to.”
Now that advice may be well-meaning by someone who believes it’s true, or perhaps by someone who doesn’t know what else to say, or even worse, it’s lazily given by someone with a dismissive attitude wanting to move on from the conversation. However, if this is how we make life-altering decisions about topics like career path, which school to attend, relationships, when to speak up or when to stay silent, shouldn’t we really consider what that overused statement really means?
What We're Following
What does it really mean to “follow your heart”?
First of all, we must ask ourselves, “What is the heart? And is it something beyond the muscle that pumps blood through our veins to the rest of the body?”
According to Hebrew and Greek cultures, the heart actually represents the location of our feelings, desires and emotions. So if we break down the statement “follow your heart”, it would go something like this:
Follow: Implies that something/someone is going to lead me.
Your heart: According to this statement, what’s going to lead me is my heart. My feelings, desires and emotions are going to be my guide.
Your heart: According to this statement, what’s going to lead me is my heart. My feelings, desires and emotions are going to be my guide.
Hearts can change with a phone call, a word of criticism or a traffic jam. If we truly followed them, we’d be all over the map with our decisions.
How horrifically dangerous is it to follow our feelings, desires, and emotions? Those things change all the time. They can change with a phone call, a word of criticism or a traffic jam. If we truly followed them, we’d be all over the map with our decisions. Unfortunately, many of us are just that, all over the map. Completely lost.
The Bible also has a lot to say about the heart. In fact, it mentions the heart a little over 300 times. In its natural state, the heart is deceitful, sick and no one can understand it. “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?" (Jeremiah 17:9). Jesus pointed out the fallen condition of our hearts, “From within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness. All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person" (Mark 7:21-23).
If a person was described with the above characteristics, would you be signing up to follow them? Of course not! No sane person would. Why then would we ever follow our heart that is described in this exact way by the One who created it and knows it best?
A New Kind of Heart
Because of the above truths, Jesus had to give us a new heart at the point of our salvation. “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).” You might even say that Jesus was the first one to perform a heart transplant surgery.
I can rest assured that He will never lead me to do anything that is contrary to His Word! I don’t follow my heart. The Holy Spirit leads my heart.
Therefore, we should follow the Great Heart Surgeon. This would be a great campaign movement: Don’t follow your heart; follow Jesus. Follow His Word, and His Holy Spirit that has been given to us as believers. “And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, to be with you forever (John 14:16).”
This is the method that God has given us in making decisions when asking those all-important questions: What should I do? When should I stay, or when should I go? When do I speak up, and when do I listen? Jesus has given us His Spirit. The Spirit (our Helper) that now dwells inside of us speaks to us through His Word. He leads me. He answers my questions, and shows me the truth of the Bible.
Why is the Bible aspect so important? It’s important because whatever is being told to me has to align with the Word. I can rest assured that He will never lead me to do anything that is contrary to it! I don’t follow my heart. The Holy Spirit leads my heart. I’m following Jesus as He is constantly shaping and molding my heart through the power of His Spirit and the tool of His Word.
The battle is always remembering truth. When my heart tries to bow up to Jesus, desperately wanting to be the boss and leader again, I can know that He is stronger than my heart. Thank God for this great encouragement in the daily war: “For whenever our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and He knows everything" (1 John 3:20).
My prayer is this: Lord, don’t let me follow my heart. Instead, You lead my heart to do Your will.
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