(Don't) Follow Your Heart

We are all quite familiar with the saying "just follow your heart". Probably we even give that kind of advice too when a friend asks our opinion in deciding something. But little did we know that our hearts can be deceptive. 

I will associate 'heart' here with 'feeling' or 'emotion', because it is closely related,

and of course I'm not talking about a muscular organ that circulate blood through cardiac cycle. 

Feeling is a conscious subjective experience of emotion (Wikipedia) or an emotional state of reaction, the overall quality of one's awareness, and the capacity to respond emotionally, especially with the higher emotions (Webster). Feeling is temporary, has its ups and downs. And it is very dangerous to decide something based solely on what we feel in our hearts, because it is unstable and sometimes unreliable.

I'm not talking about deciding what pizza should you choose, meat-lovers or vegetarians; which dress should you wear to the party; or which smart phone to buy. But, what about deciding something crucial in your life, such as marrying someone, choosing a major in a university, choosing a job, participating in a certain ministry, restoring a broken relationship, choosing what's best for your kid's education, moving to another town, adopting a baby, etc. which has the long lasting impact or probably even eternal?

Why shouldn't we just follow our hearts? Following our hearts will mostly be like this: If we don't feel like it, we won't do it/take it. If we feel like it, we'll do it/take it without thinking much further. For a simple example: A man asked you out, and you think Ahh...he is cute, funny, just swept you off your feet, and you like him. So you would accept his offer to be his girlfriend without a second thought.

There are many more examples of deciding something by following your heart, if you know what I mean.

Following the heart that has not been sanctified will normally lead us to following our ego.

So, what should we do then? Good news, there is one condition that makes it safe to follow our hearts. 

What did the bible say about our hearts?

Proverb 4:23

Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life (NIV)

Keep your heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life (MKJV)

Keep vigilant watch over your heart; that's where life starts (MSG)

What should we guard our hearts from? We should keep our hearts free from pollutants. What are these pollutants? There are many of them: lust, unforgiveness, jealousy, hatred, idolatry, godlessness, selfishness, evil desires, pride, prejudice, fear, and so on. These pollutants are like thieves that will steal our hearts piece by piece, spread diseases, and leave our hearts rotten in the inside. So, we must guard our hearts with all diligence just like the watchmen watch over the city through out the night, because what is seen on the outside, comes from the inside.

Luke 6:45

 A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth the good. And an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart brings forth the evil. For out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks. (MKJV)

That's why we must be careful about what we store up inside. Free our hearts from any evil desires, and ask Jesus to come into our hearts. We clean it up, (our wellspring of life), and fill it with the LIFE Himself. Let Him take control of our hearts. Fill our hearts with God's words, and our hearts will be sanctified. If we abide in Jesus, and we let Him takes control over our hearts, then it is safe to "follow your heart".