“Follow Your Heart? Not Biblical Advice
There’s a common piece of advice out there. It simply says “Follow Your Heart!”
It sounds so simple, so warm and fuzzy. It sounds incredibly wise. After all, if you truly follow your heart, what could possibly go wrong? It’s the key to enjoying life.
There’s only one problem with it. It’s absolutely ungodly advice.
Here’s what the Bible teaches about the condition of the human heart.
“The heart is more deceitful than all else and is desperately sick; who can know it? Jeremiah 17:9
We are fallen beings with a sin nature. Left to our own devices, we will choose anything over the God who loves us. We’ll pick darkness over light more often than not. We’ll choose short-term pleasure over long-term growth. We will hurt others to get what we want.
Following your heart is dangerous. It leads straight down the broad highway to hell and destruction. It promises things that can never be sustainably delivered.
Our fleshly nature is flawed. We need to be guided by the Holy Spirit and the Word. The LORD is our Creator, Jesus our redeemer and the Holy Spirit our indwelling guide. God loves us to an unimaginable degree, and He knows far better what is good for us than we do.
Even after we’ve been born again, we struggle against our flesh and the desires of our hearts. Paul put it this way,
For I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. Now if I do what I do not want, I agree with the law, that it is good. So now it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me. For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out. Romans 7:15-18
Believers must trust the Spirit to guide us. We need the Word to teach us and the church to hold us accountable.
In the path of righteousness is life, And in its pathway there is no death. Proverbs 12:28
“Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it. For the gate is narrow, and the way that leads to life is constricted, and there are few who find it. Matthew 7:13-14
Don’t follow your heart. Let His path guide you. Allow Him to change your desires into the desires of His heart, He will never lead you astray.
May the Lord guide your steps.
Be blessed
Kevin
SUMMARY
This devotional challenges the popular but unbiblical advice to “follow your heart,” contrasting it with Scripture’s warning that the human heart is deceitful and cannot be trusted as a guide. It calls believers instead to be led by the Holy Spirit and the Word, walking the narrow path of righteousness rather than the broad way that feels natural but leads to destruction.
KEY POINTS
The heart is deceitful (Jeremiah 17:9) and even believers wrestle with their flesh, as Paul describes in Romans 7
“Follow your heart” sounds wise but actually leads down the broad road to destruction (Matthew 7:13-14)
True guidance comes from the Holy Spirit, the Word, and the church, not from fleshly desire
In search of a good church?
Some thoughts on finding a good church
Live in Abbotsford? There are many good churches. This is where I attend.