Listen to Your Heart... Really?
“Listen to your heart” I can still hear the melody by the group Roxette that was popular when I was a teenager in the late 80s. It has become a cliché that has been accepted by many. Such statements as, “Your heart will never lead you astray” or “Your heart knows what to do” has worked its way into the philosophy of modern society. On its face it appears to be either benign or noble advice.
But how sound is that advice…? And how does, or should it square with the Christian's philosophy. Let’s turn to the Bible and see what God says in regards to following our hearts:
The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it? (Jeremiah 17:9, ESV)
That doesn’t sound very promising… Let’s try another, this time from the New Testament:
For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness. (Mark 7:21, 22, ESV)
Hmmm… This isn’t looking too good. How about a few more:
For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander. (Matthew 15:19, ESV)
This is an evil in all that is done under the sun, that the same event happens to all. Also, the hearts of the children of man are full of evil, and madness is in their hearts while they live, and after that they go to the dead. (Ecclesiastes 9:3, ESV)
Whoever trusts in his own mind is a fool, but he who walks in wisdom will be delivered. (Proverbs 28:26, ESV)
Well, it would seem that our heart is not a very good thing to follow. This would appear to go against the common logic of today’s society. It is the same logic that perpetuates relativism by saying there is no absolute truth and all viewpoints are equally valid. Or, we can live our lives ruled by our emotions or by what feels right. (Just a side note regarding relativism. It is a self-refuting position. To adhere to the same is akin to making the declaration, “There is no absolute truth and everybody is right!”. First, if you say there is no absolute truth, you yourself are making an absolute truth claim. You’ve just defeated your own statement. You have just stated there is no absolute truth, but you are expecting everyone else to take your statement as an absolute truth. Some will state they believe all religions are valid ways to God and everybody is right. Well, if my religion says an individual will not make it to Heaven without accepting Christ as his Savior, how does that affect that person’s philosophy? They’ll either have to reject my view, thereby defeating their own position that all religions are right. Or, they’ll have to agree with me and also defeat their own position in their concurrence.)
But back to our hearts, I submit to you the following people who followed their hearts: Adolph Hitler, Jim Jones, Josef Stalin, Idi Amin, Charles Manson, Saddam Hussein and Osama bin Laden just to name a few. These people followed their hearts and how did these situations work out?
Well, if we shouldn’t follow or hearts, what should we do?
But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. (Galatians 5:16, ESV)
If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit. (Galatians 5:25, ESV)
For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. (Romans 8:13, ESV)
It turns out we should follow the Spirit, meaning the Holy Spirit. For any born again believer, the Holy Spirit has taken up residence within them. It’s the third person of the Trinity who is to be our guide into all truth (John 16:13).
Unfortunately, many believers who are not well versed in their faith or their Bible can find themselves deluded by their evil deceptive hearts. Scripture has its role as well, neglect of this necessity can place one in a precarious position:
All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work. (2 Timothy 3:16, 17, ESV)
But whoever listens to me will dwell secure and will be at ease, without dread of disaster. (Proverbs 1:33, ESV)
Scripture is the written word Of God. It is the standard by which we may measure our lives. In it God speaks to us and shows us, in the way we are to walk:
Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path. (Psalms 119:105, ESV)
All of this is a moot issue for the individual who has not accepted Christ as their Savior. They are without the Holy Spirit and cannot be led by Him:
And we impart this in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit, interpreting spiritual truths to those who are spiritual. The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned. (1 Corinthians 2: 13, 14, ESV)
Therefore, they will plod along depending upon their own intuition. Following their own evil heart, which without intervention by the grace of God, will led them to eventual destruction.
For the Christian I would say, “Listen to your heart? No thank you… Yield to the Spirit and measure it by the word.”
For the non-Christian, I would say go… HERE
But how sound is that advice…? And how does, or should it square with the Christian's philosophy. Let’s turn to the Bible and see what God says in regards to following our hearts:
The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it? (Jeremiah 17:9, ESV)
That doesn’t sound very promising… Let’s try another, this time from the New Testament:
For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness. (Mark 7:21, 22, ESV)
Hmmm… This isn’t looking too good. How about a few more:
For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander. (Matthew 15:19, ESV)
This is an evil in all that is done under the sun, that the same event happens to all. Also, the hearts of the children of man are full of evil, and madness is in their hearts while they live, and after that they go to the dead. (Ecclesiastes 9:3, ESV)
Whoever trusts in his own mind is a fool, but he who walks in wisdom will be delivered. (Proverbs 28:26, ESV)
Well, it would seem that our heart is not a very good thing to follow. This would appear to go against the common logic of today’s society. It is the same logic that perpetuates relativism by saying there is no absolute truth and all viewpoints are equally valid. Or, we can live our lives ruled by our emotions or by what feels right. (Just a side note regarding relativism. It is a self-refuting position. To adhere to the same is akin to making the declaration, “There is no absolute truth and everybody is right!”. First, if you say there is no absolute truth, you yourself are making an absolute truth claim. You’ve just defeated your own statement. You have just stated there is no absolute truth, but you are expecting everyone else to take your statement as an absolute truth. Some will state they believe all religions are valid ways to God and everybody is right. Well, if my religion says an individual will not make it to Heaven without accepting Christ as his Savior, how does that affect that person’s philosophy? They’ll either have to reject my view, thereby defeating their own position that all religions are right. Or, they’ll have to agree with me and also defeat their own position in their concurrence.)
But back to our hearts, I submit to you the following people who followed their hearts: Adolph Hitler, Jim Jones, Josef Stalin, Idi Amin, Charles Manson, Saddam Hussein and Osama bin Laden just to name a few. These people followed their hearts and how did these situations work out?
Well, if we shouldn’t follow or hearts, what should we do?
But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. (Galatians 5:16, ESV)
If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit. (Galatians 5:25, ESV)
For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. (Romans 8:13, ESV)
It turns out we should follow the Spirit, meaning the Holy Spirit. For any born again believer, the Holy Spirit has taken up residence within them. It’s the third person of the Trinity who is to be our guide into all truth (John 16:13).
Unfortunately, many believers who are not well versed in their faith or their Bible can find themselves deluded by their evil deceptive hearts. Scripture has its role as well, neglect of this necessity can place one in a precarious position:
All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work. (2 Timothy 3:16, 17, ESV)
But whoever listens to me will dwell secure and will be at ease, without dread of disaster. (Proverbs 1:33, ESV)
Scripture is the written word Of God. It is the standard by which we may measure our lives. In it God speaks to us and shows us, in the way we are to walk:
Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path. (Psalms 119:105, ESV)
All of this is a moot issue for the individual who has not accepted Christ as their Savior. They are without the Holy Spirit and cannot be led by Him:
And we impart this in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit, interpreting spiritual truths to those who are spiritual. The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned. (1 Corinthians 2: 13, 14, ESV)
Therefore, they will plod along depending upon their own intuition. Following their own evil heart, which without intervention by the grace of God, will led them to eventual destruction.
For the Christian I would say, “Listen to your heart? No thank you… Yield to the Spirit and measure it by the word.”
For the non-Christian, I would say go… HERE