I’ve heard it said that the heart wants what the heart wants. Some use it as an excuse for their emotions and the actions they take because of what they want. But just because the heart wants what it wants doesn’t mean that the heart is right, and even people who use it as an excuse know this.
The first thing that comes to my mind is Jeremiah 17:9, calling the heart deceitful. This is within the context of the sin of the people of Judah, the consequences of that sin, and how only the people who trust in God and not other things will be secure. In the very next verse, Jeremiah 17:10, God says He knows the heart, He can search and test it, and He will give to everyone what the product of their actions deserves. What is in your heart will come out of it, and even if no one else knows it, God certainly does.
Just to see what I could find, I searched the word “heart” in e-Sword (a really great resource if you’re looking for a program to help you study the Bible). In many places in the Bible we find just how important the heart is. We find whatever is in the heart will come out of it. We find the heart is naturally inclined towards evil, and to incline it towards good takes constant effort and work with God, which is why we should guard our hearts, putting and keeping good things in it, and throwing out the bad things. We find whatever has our heart has the rest of us, we follow what our heart wants, which is why God wants our hearts and why we shouldn’t give them to anything else.
You can decide what to put in your heart and what to let it follow. The heart wants what the heart wants, but does your heart want what is good, right, and best?
Proverbs 3:1-8, 4:20-23
Luke 12:34
A little more on the heart:
The Heart of the Matter
Heart Protection
Legislating Righteousness