- Myths Some Christians Believe -
Follow Your Heart
Introduction
In our series on Myths Some Christians Believe we have talked about:
- God won’t give me more than I can handle
- God just wants me to be happy
- I could never forgive that person
All of these can be heard frequently and although they contain a kernel of truth, they misrepresent the teaching of the Bible. That’s really important because the Scriptures are the Word of God. If there is any wisdom to be found in our lives, it will be found there. But frequently a common saying has people looking for wisdom and truth and direction from another source.
Follow Your Heart is the saying that we hear most often. Apple Executive Steve Jobs famously said, “Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma - which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.”
Shane Pruitt says that “…this is a secular saying… Culture tells us this is the ultimate determining factor in making decisions … Unfortunately this statement has also made its way into the churches vernacular….is completely unbiblical… also really, really bad advice.”
As we think about this myth that some Christians believe, let’s begin by considering what the heart really is.
1. What is The Heart?
The Hebrew and Greek words translated heart are used over 300 times throughout the Bible. The Greek word is kardia (where we get the word cardiologist -a heart doctor.) It carries with it the belief that the heart is the hub of our emotions, feelings, desires.
The problem with following our heart is that we are following our emotions, feelings and desires. Our emotions and feelings can change in an instant … with a phone call, a word of criticism, a traffic jam. To follow our heart would be to be completely lost in direction.
The Bible affirms that the heart is not a reliable source of wisdom and truth in life.
Jeremiah 17:9 LSB “The heart is more deceitful than all else And is desperately sick; Who can know it?”
The heart abounds in contradictions - we are drawn to things we know will cause us pain and suffering. We tend to want to make decisions that will hurt others. We say we love God and then we act in opposition to that.
Romans 7:19 For the good that I want, I do not do, but I practice the very evil that I do not want.
Mark 7:21-23 LSB “For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed the evil thoughts, sexual immoralities, thefts, murders, adulteries, coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, and foolishness. All these evil things proceed from within and defile the man.”
I’d be willing to bet that most of us could give examples of times when following our hearts led to a complete meltdown of mistakes and regret. A much better path to follow …
2. The Path To Trusting God Instead of Our Heart
-War: We Are At War.
Philippians 2:12 …work out your salvation with fear and trembling.
We have an enemy who deceives us into failing. We have our own hearts that lead us astray. We are in a world that calls us to spiritual failure.
2 Corinthians 10:3-5 For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh, 4 for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for the tearing down of strongholds, 5 as we tear down speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to the obedience of Christ.
We continue to pursue godliness, growth, strength. We are confident that Jesus is the Victory, and He gives us the Victory, but we can drift out of attention to the Jesus life - it’s a battle we all face. We are at War. So we must…
-Watch: We Remain Watchful.
Matthew 26:41 Keep watching and praying that you may not enter into temptation; the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.”
When we trust our feelings and emotions, we can let our guard down and all into all kinds of traps from the enemy. Instead, Keep watching. Be aware of why you are making the decisions you are making. Be alert to the presence of temptation and be decisive in action.
Ephesians 6:17-18 “Receive the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, praying at all times with all prayer and petition in the Spirit, and to this end, being on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints…”
1 Peter 5:8 Be of sober spirit, be watchful. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.
-Way: We Submit to God
Psalm 139:23-24 Search me, O God, and know my heart. Try me and know my anxious thoughts; And see if there be any hurtful way in me, And lead me in the everlasting way.
The way forward is through submission to a wise and loving God - the One who knows us inside and out - who created us - and who sent his son Jesus to save us! When presented with choices always choose to serve God.
Proverbs 3:5-7 Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight. Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord and shun evil.
Conclusion?
1. Following your heart is an attempt to gain immediate gratification. It’s impulsive. It doesn’t weigh the consequences. Its desires are temporary. And it doesn’t want to tolerate the suffering required for results. (Bumgarner)
2. This myth can lead us down a path of destruction that can cause so much damage. To avoid following the heart and following God instead: Remember we are at war! Remember we must be watchful! Remember that there is a way that God has called us to live.
3. Proverbs 4:23 Guard your heart with all diligence, For from it flow the springs of life.
Guard your heart, but do not follow it.
Only follow the Lord and His ways.
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Questions For Discussion
1. Why do you think “Follow your heart” is such an accepted expression of advice?
2. Can you think of some Bible stories where people followed their heart and it didn’t turn out well?
3. In Mark 7 Jesus lists the kinds of things that come out of the heart. Do you have any observations about this list or what Jesus says here?
4. In 2 Corinthians 10:3-5 Paul describes our spiritual war as ‘tearing down strongholds …. speculations … taking every thought captive”. How would you describe ‘strongholds’ and ‘speculations’ - what do those terms mean to you? How do we take every thought captive?
5. What practices can we engage in order to be watchful about our spiritual path in life? Why do we let our guard down so easily, knowing that the enemy is always looking to destroy us?
6. What do the following verses tell us about the heart?
- Psalm 51:10
- Matthew 5:8
- Matthew 22:37
- Matthew 6:21
- Psalm 19:14
- Philippians 4:7
- John 14:1
- 1 John 3:20
7. Having a submissive attitude may not come naturally, but it is required for us to have a relationship with God. What do you think helps us to be submissive to God?
8. Was there anything else you wanted to talk about today?
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Resources
Bumgarner, Lori. Follow Your Heart is Bad Advice. Really Bad Advice.
https://medium.com/thrive-global/follow-your-heart-is-bad-advice-really-bad-advice-11d007bcd30c
Domingues, Nelson. 4 minute video: Don’t Follow Your Heart
https://youtu.be/9ovC1OshDOc
Herrick, Greg. The Seat of Sin, The Heart.
https://bible.org/seriespage/3-seat-sin-heart#P141_44630
Pruitt, Shane. 9 Common Lies Christians Believe. Multnomah, 2019.
