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The Heart is Deceitful

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By Deanna Etienne.  Used by permission
Jeremiah 17:9 is a strange and chilling verse. It says: 
The heart is deceitful above all things
       and beyond cure.
       Who can understand it?

I say chilling because to me it means that we can't trust our hearts. Our feelings which is what I think is meant by "heart" can distract us. Our feelings get in the way of evaluation of things around us, and in us. They say that love is blind. I believe that's true and even necessary. I mean that when we love someone we can put on blinders so that the same thing that would make us crazy if someone else did it, doesn't when our loved one does it.

This passage tells us though that we need to use more than our hearts to discern truth or we will be led astray. Our hearts are deceitful above all things. Following God involves more than just a feeling of peace and a feeling of gratitude.  We also have to be prepared to use discernment, checking everything against Scripture to see if it is correct and not deceitful. We prefer to not have to do anything, not have to test those who preach godly-sounding sermons and who do godly-sounding mission. When our mentors, preachers, Bible study leaders, church teachers, and others lead us, we must test their leading against the Bible.

These warnings were necessary in the Old Testament. People were led astray, then when the true prophets came, they didn't believe. In the OT, they followed their hearts by following the prophets who told them what they wanted or preferred to hear. They were easily led astray because they looked to people and to what "felt right" to make decisions.  The last several books of the Bible are relentless about this. Jesus warned in Matthew and Mark to watch for false prophets. 
Matthew 7:15 (NIV) "Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves."
Matthew 24:11 (NIV) "and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people."
Mark 13:22 (NIV) "For false Christs and false prophets will appear and perform signs and miracles to deceive the elect—if that were possible."

And later there were warnings by the apostles.
2 Peter 2:1(NIV) But there were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the sovereign Lord who bought them—bringing swift destruction on themselves.
1 John 4:1(NIV) Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world.
Unfortunately, we prefer to do what feels good, to think what sounds good, to obey what our hearts tell us to obey.  We HAVE to put more effort into it. I don't mean that helping others won't make us feel good and that a good preacher won't preach a sermon that makes us happy.  But it is entirely our responsibility to test what we hear against what Scriptures say so that our hearts don't deceive us. We need to do this by ourselves.  We have to develop our relationship with God so that the Holy Spirit enlightens us and our hearts don't deceive us.  Scripture tells us that we can't trust our hearts. It also tells us that our hearts cannot be cured of this deceit.  Maybe that's why some high profile religious leaders fall. They forget that the heart is deceitful above all else.


So, Dear Blog Readers, you must keep me honest. Test me. Call me out when I'm stating something that doesn't pass the test. I appreciate the person who commented about the Trinity a while back. It has made me test what I've heard and read.

Dear God, Thank you for the repeated warnings. Help us to heed the warnings and follow You not only with our hearts (in love) but with our heads (in knowledge of Your Word).  Amen.
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