Follow Your What?
Disney has ruined us. Did that catch your attention? This is not a political article. It is an article about a way of thinking that, at least to me, seems to be promoted in some Disney movies but in reality is promoted in a lot of places. That mentality is: follow your heart. If you do not know what to do, just follow your heart. Got a big decision? Just follow your heart. That might help sell a lot of tickets to a movie and make people feel good about themselves, but is it good advice?
Well, Jeremiah 17:9 says, “The heart is more deceitful than all else.” You know that to be true. Have you ever thought with all your heart that something was right just to find out you were wrong? I think about Saul/Paul in the New Testament who was persecuting Christ with a clear conscience (Acts 23:1). This article began when I read a quote by Samuel Rutherford that says, “Your heart is not the compass that God steers by.” Could our culture be wrong about following our heart? I would hope you have had enough experiences in your life and enough Bible teaching to know this is a faulty way of living. It really makes self god of our lives, and that can only end poorly.
If our heart is not what God steers by, then what does he steer by? Proverbs 3:5-7 says, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight. Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord and turn away from evil.” How do we trust and acknowledge God? By doing His word. That is one reason I want to be in Bible study both corporately and privately. I want to be in worship, etc. Palm 119:105 says “Your word is a lamp to my feel and a light to my path.” If I am going to be led by God’s word, I must know God’s Word.