Don't Follow Your Heart

 Your heart is a liar.

Jon Tyson

YOU'VE PROBABLY HEARD the terrible advice in movies, on Instagram, or even in person from a friend or family member: Follow Your Heart.

For example: "Follow your heart: it knows the way."

Or this frightening quotation: "When you are in alignment with the desires of your heart, things have a way of working out."

The aphorism is so prevalent, you might conclude the advice originates somewhere in Scripture. In fact, the Bible tells us the opposite. Jeremiah 17:9 is a good example: "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?" Not exactly something you would want to follow, is it?

Solomon wrote about the heart in similar fashion. He wrote, "Every way of a man is right in his own eyes, but the Lord weighs the heart" (Prov. 21:2). This passage is not as explicit as the one above, but is just as telling. Taking a deeper look will help us understand why it's unwise to follow your heart and what to do instead.

Why We Fear The One Who Made Us

  A preview of April's email-only article.

Caleb Woods

DOES IT EVER seem like God is hiding from us?

If he's really out there, why won't he show us his glory?

It turns out there's a good explanation for this phenomenon, something we're examining in this month's email-exclusive article.

Every month I publish an exclusive article for my email subscribers, and if you'd like instant, free access, fill out the form below. (If you are already a subscriber, check your inbox!)

Here's a snippet of this month's exclusive:

GOD CANNOT BE contained in any analogy we could conjure, but have you ever considered the paradoxical nature of our sun? Without the sun we could not survive. But were we to venture too near the sun we would perish as well. Even gazing at the yellow dwarf proves injurious.

 

God is a little like the sun. We cannot stand in God's presence without ceasing to exist. And yet, since God is our creator and sustainer, we would not exist at all without him.

 

When Moses asked to see God's glory, God replied he would show Moses his "goodness," but he said, "you cannot see my face, for man shall not see me and live" (Exo. 33:19, 20). Even Moses, who met regularly with God, could not survive an unveiled glimpse of the Almighty.

 

Job was well aware of the awesome, terrifying, and potentially fatal repercussions of an interaction with God. And yet, what he wanted most above all else was an audience with the Creator so he could plead his case. So after preparing his arguments, Job requested two things of God: "Withdraw your hand far from me, and let not dread of you terrify me" (13:21).

 

This passage is intriguing. Here's why.

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