What if the heart isn't as deceptive as we've been led to believe? Unearth the biblical truths about the heart's true nature as we challenge the conventional wisdom rooted in Jeremiah 17:9. Discover how the heart's condition changes based on whether it focuses on selfish desires or God. We dissect scriptures like Jeremiah 3:15, Psalm 20:4, and Job 22:22 to show that when aligned with God's will, the heart can be discerning and upright. We also highlight the profound connection between our emotions, experiences, and the healing journey, emphasizing that God truly cares about our feelings and pain.
Ever wondered why Western culture often prioritizes the mind over the heart? We unravel the contradiction between this notion and biblical teachings, focusing on 1 Samuel 16:7. Learn how God looks beyond outward appearances and values the heart, which includes our feelings, thoughts, and character. By exploring the Hebrew concept of loving God with all your heart, soul, and might, we advocate for an integrated approach where heart, mind, will, and emotions coexist harmoniously. This episode invites you to reconsider the belief that the heart is inherently deceptive, and to embrace a balanced perspective that can enrich your faith journey.
Discipling mothers to disciple generations
Encouragement and practical steps to improve your relationship with yourself, God, and your child.
What if the heart isn't as deceptive as we've been led to believe? Unearth the biblical truths about the heart's true nature as we challenge the conventional wisdom rooted in Jeremiah 17:9. Discover how the heart's condition changes based on whether it focuses on selfish desires or God. We dissect scriptures like Jeremiah 3:15, Psalm 20:4, and Job 22:22 to show that when aligned with God's will, the heart can be discerning and upright. We also highlight the profound connection between our emotions, experiences, and the healing journey, emphasizing that God truly cares about our feelings and pain.
Ever wondered why Western culture often prioritizes the mind over the heart? We unravel the contradiction between this notion and biblical teachings, focusing on 1 Samuel 16:7. Learn how God looks beyond outward appearances and values the heart, which includes our feelings, thoughts, and character. By exploring the Hebrew concept of loving God with all your heart, soul, and might, we advocate for an integrated approach where heart, mind, will, and emotions coexist harmoniously. This episode invites you to reconsider the belief that the heart is inherently deceptive, and to embrace a balanced perspective that can enrich your faith journey.
Discipling mothers to disciple generations
Encouragement and practical steps to improve your relationship with yourself, God, and your child.
I've been thinking about this for a few days and someone else responded in the conversation that, like, you just need to renew your mind. The heart is deceptive and it can't be trusted. And I'm familiar with that scripture. I've heard it many times, I've struggled with it for a long time because in my own healing journey it's like but like my heart and how I feel matters so much and God cares about how I feel. Like I've experienced this. I'm not just making it up or saying it matters because I want it to or because I want somebody to pay attention to my pain, like God cares about our pain. That's why Jesus came and experienced every emotion that we experienced. And though he paid for all of the pain and he paid for all of our sin, it doesn't mean we don't still feel it and that we don't still need something to heal from those hurts and traumas and things.
Mukkove:
And so I read this lady's comment. You know that just kind of was like well, I don't really know her intention. The way it hit me at first was like ah, witch doctor, watch out. You know it was like she's going to lead you astray. She's telling you to pay attention to your heart and your heart is deceptive, don't do that. So at first I was intimidated and then I was like no, I don't need to be intimidated, like I know that I know God cares about our heart. God has a heart himself and he talks about hiding his word in our heart and leading us with our heart and out of the goodness of your heart that you produce good fruit. Jesus said that, and so I'm like okay, but how do I answer this in a way that's not just I don't agree with you, like, like what? What's really the big picture? How, how did we get to this place where so often, when we want to talk about emotions or experiences, the impact of someone's behavior on us, so often the answer is to shut it down with well, your heart is wicked and deceptive and just kill all that like crucify the flesh kind of approach. And so the verse that says that in some versions it's translated differently in different versions, but the verse is Jeremiah 17, 9. And it does say the heart is deceptive and wicked, and who can know it? But it's the only place that says that. So the other night I couldn't sleep and I just kept thinking about this and having all these different verses and things come to mind and like okay, god, what do you really think of our heart, where you know? What are you saying? What's the right perspective on this? And why is this one verse thrown out there so much Like? It doesn't make sense to me, with all these other things that are coming to mind, when I went back and read Jeremiah 17,. Well, I read Jeremiah 17,.
Mukkove:
Context always matters and the Lord is talking to Israel and he describes how they have fallen away. They're focused on their own selfish desires, they're focused on the gods of the land instead of on him, and so, in that state where they're focused on the wrong thing, their heart is deceptive and wicked and it would probably be better translated that their hearts are deceived. The heart itself is neutral, kind of like money. It's a tool. Does it do good or evil? It depends on the person behind the money. The money in and of itself doesn't do anything, so it's the focus of the heart. So jeremiah, the lord is speaking through jeremiah to say here's where your heart's focused and it's wicked and deceived and it's producing bad fruit. But if you focus your heart on me, then I have these blessings for you and you're my people and I'm going to shepherd you, and so it's not. The heart innately of itself is deceived. It's able to be deceived. We're human and fallible, so we can be deceived, but the heart in and of itself is not.
Mukkove:
And so I have lots and lots of verses and I was going to try and write, write them up and I will. I just didn't get it done today. But I wanted to come and share and also get feedback from you guys, if, if you've been taught something different or if what I'm sharing doesn't make sense or brings up more questions for you, so that when I do write it up, um, I like cover all of that stuff. Um, so I'm trying to think what, what verses to share? I guess just all the ones that stood out to me as I went through.
Mukkove:
Um, in Jeremiah 3, 15, god says I will give, I will, I will give you shepherds after my own heart. And you know like we're made in his image and part of that image is having a heart. And so he had a heart from the very beginning and he said it was very good. Um, in kings he talks about having an upright heart, a discerning heart, that god gives discernment to our heart so, while it can be deceived again if we're focused in the right place. If we're focused on the right place, if we're focused on the Lord. Even in the Old Testament, without Holy Spirit dwelling within, he gave the ability for the heart to discern. Job 22, 22 talks about putting God's word in your heart.
Mukkove:
Psalm 20, verse 4 talks about God giving you the desires of your heart as a good thing, you the desires of your heart as a good thing. He does also talk about I think it's in Romans about giving people over to the lustful, like the desire of the flesh, because that's where they focused their heart. But he's not against the desires of our heart. He put them there in the first place. When we're focused on him, can we have fleshly desires that are wicked and deceptive? Yes, but if we're focused on him and submitted to him and asking to bring him glory, those desires he wants to fulfill, yeah, jeremiah 3.15, that he's give you shepherds after his own heart.
Mukkove:
Jeremiah 29.13, when you find, you will find God, when you seek him with all your heart. So if our heart can only be deceived and is only wicked, how would we ever find God? And when we talk about, especially to children, like invite Jesus into your heart. Does he do nothing? Is he less powerful than the wickedness that was there and the deceit that was there Like? No, he comes in, he gives us a new heart and yes, we're still human. Yes, we're still fallible, we can still make mistakes. But that's not who we are. That's not the primary focus and identity of our heart anymore when we're in Christ or when we're focused on the Lord.
Mukkove:
In Ezekiel 18, 31 and 36, 26, he talks about giving people a new heart. And again, this is old testament. Before the crucifixion god was still saying I will give you like bring me your heart that's wicked and deceived, give you a new one. Um, in Matthew, Jesus talks about the pure in heart. In the, in the beatitudes blessed are the pure in heart. So obviously it's possible to have a pure heart rather than a wicked and a deceived heart. And Matthew 12, 34 out of the mouth, the heart speaks. We believe, we're told in romans. Romans 10, 9 says believe in your heart that god raised jesus from the dead. And then in verse 10 he says it's with your heart that you believe and are justified. Again, how could that come from a deceived, wicked heart?
Mukkove:
So I was having so much fun like finding all these verses and seeing there's this one that says the heart is wicked, rather than the heart can be led that way, or the heart of the wicked, and there's hundreds and hundreds of verses about talking about having a heart after God, having a heart like God's Second. Corinthians 9, 17 says to give in your heart what you've decided to give. So your scripture, the apostle Paul, is saying that your heart helps you make decisions, which is so true. When you learn to listen to your emotions, not follow your emotions, not let them run the show, but listen to them as you listen to the Lord. It's part of making good decisions listening to your heart. Give as you have been led in your heart Ephesians 1.18, you can have an enlightened heart.
Mukkove:
The Western culture separates the head and the heart and I have taught this and I'm so in the process of like. What does this mean, lord? I think our thoughts and emotions are still different. So when we know something is true Jesus died for us we are 100% righteous. There's nothing that God has against us in Christ. It's true. Know that. That. It's in the bible.
Mukkove:
That doesn't always feel completely true and you can feel that in your body and that tension is because your heart doesn't fully believe that truth. You've had an experience, doesn't fully believe that truth. You've had an experience, you've been taught wrong, whatever it is, so that what you know to be true doesn't feel true. And that's where you need attention. You need to say why is this here? Lord, show me what I need to do to change this, to bring what I feel in alignment with what's really true, and that's work that I absolutely love to do.
Mukkove:
Thinking about it again. If our heart is wicked, if our heart is deceived, then how can we love God, how can we love our family, how can we have a righteous anger against injustice, child trafficking, all the gender confusion, stuff, the poor, the lost? How can we have compassion, how can we have empathy or any of that, if our heart is only deceptive? Jesus wept over Jerusalem so many times. He was moved with compassion for the crowds and for the people that came to him. Interesting and very crippling to the kingdom to discount that part of how God made us To say that the heart is just to be ignored and subdued and trampled, kind of.
Mukkove:
As I discovered as I continued to look into this, the Hebrew doesn't really separate the heart and the mind and the soul. So from Strong's Concordance, the Hebrew word that's translated, heart, includes feelings, will and intellect. All of that's included when the Hebrew word heart is used. It encompasses all of that. So it encompasses your mind, your intellect, and it's also used as the center of something. So like the core of your being is your heart. And in the Greek basically the same thing it's thoughts and feelings and mind and the core of something.
Mukkove:
Our Western idea that somehow snuck into the church, that's so not biblical that the heart should be put away and ignored and subdued and that we just need our mind, is so contrary to Scripture. like 1 Samuel 16, 7 7. God looks at the heart, the inner disposition and character of a person. That was when Samuel was trying to find the next king of Israel. He was looking for David and he's like, oh, this guy's really tall and handsome, must be him. God's like, no, don't look at the inside, I'm looking at the heart. So again, pre-cross, pre-resurrection, god's saying people can have a heart. That's after me that I want their heart, I can work with their heart. You know, god searches our hearts and minds. He fills our hearts with joy.
Mukkove:
Yeah, so it just was really interesting that the hebrew doesn't separate your feelings and your thoughts. They're all part of your heart. We're told to love the lord, your god, with all your heart, with all your soul and with all your might. And I don't know if it's our western thinking, my thinking. I've always looked at those as separate things.
Mukkove:
I'm gonna love him with all these different things, but when you look at what the hebrew means, you love him with all your heart. That's your mind, your thinking, your will and your emotions. All that stuff is going to love the lord. Then you're going to love him. So you love him with all your heart. Then you love him with all your soul. It's the same thing, but more it's your very being. That you're going to love him with, and then with all your might, is like all of your everything. So instead of it being three different things it's just a way of the Hebrew language expounding it Like you're going to love him with your whole heart and you're going to love him with your whole soul, your whole being, and then with your every everything, all your resources, your time, your finances, all your everything. So it just is keeping getting bigger. It's not these three separate things. So I just thought that was cool too.
Mukkove:
I'm curious have you been taught that your heart is deceptive and should not be trusted? And if you've been taught that, have you believed it because you've been taught it? Has it never made sense to you? What problems has it caused you if you believed it? True was true, because somebody who was supposed to know told you that that was true. Would love to hear your thoughts.