Can I Trust My Own Heart?
Our desires and experiences influence our reasoning and our perspective.
When We Become Our Own Standard
Part 2 — Can I Trust My Own Heart?
There’s something we don’t like to admit about ourselves.
We can be wrong.
Not just once in a while about facts or decisions, but about what we believe, what we want and even what we think is right or wrong.
We don’t always recognize it. Have you ever been completely convinced that you were right, only to look back later and realize how wrong you actually were?
That’s why the Bible never says to “follow your heart.” That is absolutely horrible advice and it warns us about our hearts. Jeremiah says,
“The heart is more deceitful than all else.” —Jeremiah 17:9
That’s not a very flattering description of human nature, is it?
Our desires and experiences influence our reasoning and our perspective. And our sin can make us really good at defending what we already want.
That’s why Proverbs tells us,
“Do not lean on your own understanding.” —Proverbs 3:5
Scripture doesn’t tell us to stop thinking. God gave us minds and He expects us to use them. The warning is against making our understanding the final authority.
There is a big difference. A Christian doesn’t have to abandon reason. We learn to bring reason under the authority of God’s revelation.
Think about a compass. A compass can be working perfectly and still lead you in the wrong direction if its reference point has been disturbed.
The same thing happens in our lives. We can be sincere and still be sincerely wrong. We can be convinced and still be mistaken. We can even have good intentions and still choose something God has told us not to.
God’s Word is not there just to give us information. It corrects, teaches, reproves and trains us when our hearts and minds lead us somewhere they shouldn’t go.
It’s good for us to ask ourselves this question from time to time: “Where does my thinking go when God’s Word disagrees with me?”
That may tell us more about the authority God’s Word actually has in our lives than anything we say about how much we love the Bible.
