Whenever I hear people say, “Follow your heart,” I kind of want to scream. I’m not trying to offend you if you’ve ever said that. It’s more because that advice makes me take an honest look at myself, which is not something I really enjoy.

You see, deep down I know what a dope I really am. Left to my own devices, I’ll put my subjective interests and comfort first. I’ll strategize and rationalize and do my best to cover up my flaws. You probably know that’s true about you too. 

This shouldn’t be a surprise. After all, the truth is that “out of the heart come evil thoughts—murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander” (Matthew 15:19). 

The big problem is that, on our own, we can’t do anything to change our hearts. They’re separated from God by our failures and sins and selfishness.

That’s where, thankfully, God stepped in to change our situation. He sent Jesus to live for us and to die for us and to live again to defeat death forever. When we’re baptized and believe in Jesus, God promises, “I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh” (Ezekiel 36:26). 

Thanks to him, we never have to follow our own hearts ever again. We get to follow God’s heart.