My Thoughts On // "Follow Your Heart"

I’ve heard it.  You’ve heard it.  I think we’ve all heard the popular phrase, “follow your heart.”  Recently I went and saw the premier of a new Disney movie with some of my siblings, and there it was again, stabbing me with sorrow and frustration: “follow your heart.”  But, why?  What is it that makes this phrase so popular?

There’s a reason that the phrase “follow your heart” is popular.  The world loves it.  You hear it on movies, from famous popstars, and in books.  There’s just something so appealing about this phrase.

I think there is a major principle we need to remember, and that is, what the world says and likes is completely contrary to what God says and likes.  The Bible tells us this, and our personal observations and common sense agree.  So if something like the motto “follow your heart” is so popular to the world around us, there’s a very good chance that it strays quite far from God’s standard.  Not to mention, the Bible tells us that the heart is desperately wicked.  Following it would definitely not be a good thing!

“The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; who can know it?” – Jeremiah 17:9.

“Follow your heart” may sound great to the world, but if you truly desire to please God, you’ll realize the poison this slogan is injecting into peoples’ brains.

To “follow your heart” is to do whatever you want.

Doing whatever you want is NEVER a good idea.  Our wills are to be conformed to God’s, and we are to do what He wants us to.

                                                                                                      

The message of following your heart had, I think, good intentions at its core.  It insinuates going against the flow, and not confining your life to the standard box.  It encourages being yourself and not letting anyone/anything define you or dictate your future.  However, if Christ does not define you, than your identity is automatically misplaced.  As daughters of Christ, our only true identity is found in Him.  There is no room for another.

“Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.” – 2 Corinthians 5:17, KJV.

“I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me…” – Galatians 2:20, KJV.

I may play volleyball, or compete in piano, or be a top Bible quizzer.  And these are all things I have pursued and have wanted to do. (Lest you think I’m bragging, let me be the first to tell you that my 4-year-old sister can ice skate circles around me!)  But none of these things define me.  I am defined by Christ’s righteousness.  I’m His daughter: redeemed, restored, loved, adored. 

Volleyball, piano, and Bible Quiz; these are simply activities that, although I personally have a desire to do them, I have thought through carefully and believe the Lord has guided and permitted me to do.  Jesus Christ is still the authority over what I do and my desire is to glorify Him.  I must – we must – pray and seek God’s will often in the things we pursue.  Is God leading in that way?

“Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.” – 1 Corinthians 10:31, KJV.

If we realize where our identity is truly found and to whom our duty lies, we can’t help but realize the error in following our own hearts and our own desires.  Following ourselves leads to wickedness and destruction.  We were never intended to follow ourselves; we were created to follow God.  To find wisdom and true satisfaction, we must FORSAKE ourselves – flee, forget, leave behind our own wants and desires – and chase after God.  As Christians, “following our heart” should be the LAST thing we should want to do!

“Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.” – Matthew 16:24, KJV.

Again, let me emphasize that what the world says is probably the complete opposite of what God says.  More and more, this is becoming the case in our culture.  We must be careful to take everything we hear from the world with a grain of salt, and examine it closely through the lens of God’s Word.  Satan would so desperately like to use the world to trip us up.  We must be sober and vigilant Christians!

“Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.” – 1 Peter 5:8, NKJV.

“Therefore let us not sleep, as others do, but let us watch and be sober.” – 1 Thessalonians 5:6, NKJV.

“And be not conformed to this world, but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.” – Romans 12:2, KJV.

These are just a couple of my thoughts on this unsettling phrase.  I would love to hear your opinions and thoughts in the comments below!