Tip #42: Don't Follow Your Heart!
When I think of heart, I don't necessarily mean heart. I mean the place where we base our emotions (and of course not the thing that pumps blood throughout the circulatory system). So, an alternative title of this post could be "Don't Follow Your Emotions!" Now that I have that out of the way, here's what Jeremiah 17:9 says about the heart: "The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?" What's funny is that you constantly hear people and the media encouraging you to do whatever you feel is right. They say things like "follow your heart" and "do whatever you feel is right". That is probably some of the worst advice I have ever heard. You are an emotional being and how you feel today about a certain person, idea, or decision could be completely different tomorrow, next week, or next year. So what should you follow? You should follow principles. Here are a 10 that will never let you down:
The Fruit of the Spirit (Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness, & Self-Control)
Friendship
Courage
Responsibility
Righteousness
Teamwork
Values
Perseverance
Vision
Balance
I'm sure you can think of many more principles and if your heart is in sync with those principles, then go ahead and follow it. On the other hand, I have lived long enough to understand how basing decisions off of my heart/emotions has screwed me over time and time again.
Written 7/24/2014 by John Weaver