Art by Amanda Cass
“Following your heart” is a spiritual concept. It’s not talking about your literal physical heart that pumps blood, but an intangible abstraction representing our truest nature. “The heart” is who we are at the core of our being.
The advice to “follow your heart” has saturated our culture. It advises everyone that they should do whatever their emotional desires tell them.
But does this advice fit the reality we live in?
That all depends on whether or not the heart is a positive, trustworthy force.
Let’s take a look at what the Bible has to say about the heart:
At first glance, the Bible leaves us with a pretty grim image of what dwells at the cores of our beings. We are all born with a sin nature, which means we have the natural inclination to want to defy God’s design.
Jeremiah 17:9 ESV The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?
Matthew 15:19 ESV For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander.
Numbers 15:39 NIV You will have these tassels to look at and so you will remember all the commands of the Lord, that you may obey them and not prostitute yourselves by chasing after the lusts of your own hearts and eyes.
Jeremiah 22:17 ESV But you have eyes and heart only for your dishonest gain, for shedding innocent blood, and for practicing oppression and violence.
Sin nature makes hearts evil and untrustworthy. Sometimes our hearts can be so misguided that following them is sabotaging our lives.
The heart also likes to play the blame game. Even when it’s our own fault that bad things happen, an unwise heart will refuse to take responsibility for its actions and will blame God for the natural consequences of our choices.
Proverbs 19:3 ESV When a man's folly brings his way to ruin, his heart rages against the Lord.
Fortunately, this is not everything the Bible has to say about hearts. We may be born with a sin nature, but thanks to Christ’s sacrifice on the cross we can put that sin nature to death.
1 Peter 2:24 NASB and He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross, so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness; for by His wounds you were healed.
Romans 6:6 NASB knowing this, that our old self was crucified with Him, in order that our body of sin might be done away with, so that we would no longer be slaves to sin;
Galatians 5:24 NASB Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.
Just as faith in Christ’s death pays for our sins and brings us into God’s family, faith also gives us the ability to walk with God throughout this life. With God’s help, our hearts can be trained in wisdom, and cultivated into a more trustworthy and helpful force.
Psalm 51:10 ESV Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.
Proverbs 23:19 ESV Hear, my son, and be wise, and direct your heart in the way.
Proverbs 3:5-8 ESV Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths. Be not wise in your own eyes; fear the LORD, and turn away from evil. It will be healing to your flesh and refreshment to your bones.
Proverbs 4:23 ESV Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life.
Ecclesiastes 10:2 ESV A wise man's heart inclines him to the right, but a fool's heart to the left.
Psalm 119:11 ESV I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you.
Proverbs 28:26 ESV Whoever trusts in his own mind is a fool, but he who walks in wisdom will be delivered.
Psalm 19:14 ESV Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.
When we turn to God and let Him guide our hearts in wisdom, he is able to help us through life and work all things for our good.
Romans 5:5 ESV And hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.
Romans 8:28 NIV And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.
Psalm 73:26 ESV My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.
Psalm 37:4 ESV Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.
The Bible makes it clear that this world is plagued by sin. If we are honest with ourselves and really do the work of digging deep down into the choices we make and why we make them, it becomes obvious that at our core, we are sinful. Our very natures are tainted by sin. This means we can’t always trust what our hearts tell us. What we want for ourselves may be selfish and is often misguided.
This doesn't necessarily mean that everything we want is bad, it just means we should be wary of trusting our hearts blindly. If we seek out the guidance of the Holy Spirit and study the Bible to gain wisdom, we can make better choices.
This series of blog posts titled, “Holding on to Reason”, is named after Amanda’s favorite C.S. Lewis quote: “Faith is the art of holding on to things your reason has once accepted, in spite of your changing moods.”