When we consider that most people believe that "following your heart" is good advice for everyone, and by doing so, you will find happiness, this scripture gives us a totally different picture. One Bible version says," Above everything else guard your heart; for it is the source of life’s consequences." (CJV) I tend to think this is a more accurate picture of the truth. Everything we do, everything we act on flows from what we believe in our hearts. So the wisest man who ever lived (besides Jesus) is telling us to guard our hearts...take care of them...protect what we allow to flow through them.
But why would this wise man give us this advice? Well according to the Prophet Jeremiah this is why, “The heart is deceitful above all things, And desperately wicked; Who can know it?" (Jeremiah 17:9) He tells us that the heart is deceitful and wicked. I know that the times in my own personal life when I have gotten into the most trouble were those time when I was "following my heart". I was doing what my emotions were telling me to do, instead of listening to logic and the leading of the Holy Spirit. Friends...you can get yourself into a heap of trouble by following your heart or your emotions. Jeremiah certainly knew what he was talking about!
You see, there is not one place in scripture that tells us to follow our hearts. Jesus said over and over in scripture, "Follow Me"...and He also told us that the Holy Spirit will guide us into all truth...but not once did He instruct us to follow our hearts. Did you ever notice how much your emotions, or your heart tends to fluctuate? How can you trust the leading of something that is so flexible? You can't!
Matthew 15:19 further explains the condition of the heart, "For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies." Therefore, we need to be on constant guard about what we allow to flow into and also what we allow to flow out of our hearts. Whatever we put in there is where the heart is going to follow.
So what do we do? We need to be constantly meditating on the Word of God and we need to be always in an attitude of prayer. Also, whenever there is sin in our lives, let's repent of it right away so that we can clearly hear when the Holy Spirit is leading us. We need to ask ourselves what is the reason we are going in the direction we are going...is it wisdom or God's direction, or is it an emotional thing that we are following. We need to listen and pay attention to the leading of the Holy Spirit. In hindsight, probably the greatest mistake I ever made was a drastic one, and when I look back, I can see where the Holy Spirit was trying to warn me and lead me in the right direction. But I was so certain I was doing what God wanted that I totally ignored the Holy Spirit's direction for my life. What I was actually doing was following my heart, or my emotions...and it led me to a place where I should not have gone and caused me to pay a heavy price for disobedience to God. So again...let me warn you not only from the Word of God but also from personal experience..."Guard your heart, for it is the source of life's consequences." God bless you as you seek to know Him more!
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