Lesson 27: Yeah... don't do that.
Society these days has fallen hard for the "follow your heart" idea. And why wouldn't we? Doesn't it just sound so great? Just do what your heart wants and things will turn out great! Well, many of us know (or should know but have no realized) that the heart can be selfish and wicked. "Yeah, but doesn't the Holy Spirit live in our hearts? Shouldn't we follow what the Holy Spirit is telling our hearts?"
There is only one verse in the entire Bible that says the Holy Spirit lives in our hearts (And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!” Galatians 4:6 ESV). Everywhere else, it says that the Holy Spirit dwells in us. Not just in our hearts. It dwells in our mind, our soul, our mouth, our hands, everywhere! So considering that there's only one verse that says the Holy Spirit lives in our hearts, there are at least 100 Bible verses that discuss how the heart is wicked and selfish.
I'd like to think of myself as a rational person, and most people seem to agree with things. I'm not usually quick to act or speak, I take my time and carefully analyze the situation before acting. I will be the first to admit that sometimes it's not always a good thing, but for about 90-95% of the time it saves me a lot of trouble. I feel that it would do the same for many of my friends if they just did the same, but it doesn't always happen. The heart can often overpower the mind and rationalism, and make us do crazy, stupid things. The heart can get us into a lot of trouble and heartbreak. Huh. How I ironic, the heart causing heartbreak.
I think the reason heartbreak occurs so often is because we listen to our heart and our selfish desires without thinking it through. Sure, our heart can be right about a lot of things, but people fail to realize that it can be wrong. Simple truth. The heart doesn't know what it wants often times and it can create a lot of chaos inside ourselves.
I guess we should just walk away with this: Listen to your heart, it can give you some great advice and insight. BUT, think it through. Don't follow through on this want of the heart without checking with your head first.
~Alyssa
