Least Desirable is Often the Right Thing

“He that trusteth in his own heart is a fool: but whoso walketh wisely, he shall be delivered.” (Pr 28:26 AV)

There are several truths here that come to mind.  The first is the obvious one.  Jeremiah tells us the heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked.  Emotions should be the last motivation for making a choice.  Emotions are fickle.  They are unreliable.  They are based on a limited source of information.  We are often moved in our emotions by what we observe, hear, or sense.  Only to find out what we sensed was not the whole truth.  Emotional choices often reject reason.  Common sense is thrown right out the window because we feel we have to make a certain decision.  This is the exact advice which the world gives to itself all the time.  If I have to hear that piece of advice from some source of entertainment one more time, I think I will scream.  Often, a story will lead the viewer to believe as long as one follows one’s heart, then everything will end like a fairy tale – perfect.  Never do worldly influences show the vast majority of times someone follows their heart it ends in disaster.  We know all this.  What I think the Spirit might be asking us to consider is the second half of the verse and how it relates to the heart.

We are selfish people often working things in our own best interests.  It is our nature to consider ourselves first.  This is why following one’s own heart is not only a bad idea, but it is also a slippery slope to immoral or habitual disobedience.  To that end, the Holy Spirit compares following one’s heart to walking wisely.  Which suggests a truth.  Wisdom is contrary to the heart.  Wisdom is from above and is seeded in the mind – not the heart.  Further, wisdom is juxtaposed to the heart.  They are often at odds with one another.  Wisdom, or the mind, argues against the heart.  Therefore, there is a principle here.  One principle I determined to live by early on in my Christian walk.  When wondering what I should do, the Spirit taught me the thing that I least want to do is probably the right thing to do.  The heart wants to do the wrong thing.  It is the thing which I most want to do.  Opposite the hearts’ desire is wisdom saying I should ignore how I feel and do just the opposite.  This is not always the case.  After some time and maturity, the saint realizes what the LORD wants him or her to do is for the best and it becomes what the saint wants as well.

I see this particularly in the realm of romantic relationships.  There is little reasoning going on.  It is all pure emotion.  Then when two people do get married, they begin to see what they got stuck with.  They never examined the wisdom in marrying whom they chose and the will of God was never part of their decision.  Now, there are married to someone who does not share their values.  They are married to someone whose faults they never knew.  They never considered God’s call on their lives and whether a future mate would help fulfill that calling.  Now, they are stuck and trying to make the best of it.  This error is not limited to relationships.  Education is another area.  Career choice still another.  Food is definitely our biggest problem.  Eating what we crave instead of what is healthy for us is a habit of a lifetime.  The mature person will examine his or her heart in the light of God’s word and do what the Bible says rather than what the heart desires.  To follow the heart means a pit of destruction.