Monday, October 21, 2024
The Heart Is Deceitful
“The human heart is the most deceitful of all things, and desperately wicked. Who really knows how bad it is?” (Jeremiah 17:9 NLT)
Bruce Springsteen had a “Hungry Heart.” Billy Ray Cyrus had an “Achy Breaky Heart.” Toni Braxton sang “Un-Break My Heart,” and the Bee Gees sang “How Can You Mend a Broken Heart,” which is a good question if you have an “achy breaky heart.” Of course, Celine Dion reminds us that the heart will go on, even if it’s hungry, achy, breaky, or broken.
You can probably think of dozens of other songs that have the word heart in their titles. The heart holds a special place in our culture—especially pop culture—because it represents our deepest emotions. Romantics believe that our emotions are the purest essence of who we are. Your body can be tempted. Your mind can be deceived. But your heart will never lead you astray. Or so says the plot of every romantic comedy to come out of Hollywood. So the only way to find true happiness and ultimate fulfillment in life is to (say it with me) follow your heart.
But in Jeremiah 17:9, God says, “Not so fast.” There’s nothing particularly noble or pure about the human heart. In fact, you’d have a hard time finding anything more deceitful or wicked. The heart is selfish. It wants what it wants, regardless of the consequences or the pain it causes others.
It doesn’t have to be that way. In Ezekiel 36:26, God tells the people of Israel, “I will give you a new heart, and I will put a new spirit in you. I will take out your stony, stubborn heart and give you a tender, responsive heart” (NLT). This spiritual heart transplant changes everything. You develop a tender, responsive heart by filling your mind with God’s Word, meditating on it, obeying it, and letting it change you from the inside. When your heart becomes a conduit for God’s wisdom and love, it can be trusted. And it can be useful.
David wrote, “Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you your heart’s desires” (Psalm 37:4 NLT). Taking delight in the Lord means recognizing that His ways are best. The result is a desire to make sure His will is done. When you align your life with God’s will, your heart changes. It becomes more like God’s. And when your prayers sync with what God wants for you, God gives you the desires of your heart.
Until God changes your heart, it will lead you astray if you try to follow it. It will deceive you into believing that it can guide you to genuine happiness and fulfillment. In reality, only God can deliver those things.
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