Proof of Life
Introduction: Are you sure? There are many promises of God but how can we be sure? Doubts are common even for those who have been Christians for a long time. During periods of doubt and uncertainty, ...
28 janv. 2024
If you follow Filipino basketball, you’ve heard the battle cry: “Puso!” Facing taller, heftier opponents, the national team gives all their “heart” and earns the world’s respect.
Today, many of us understand the word “heart” to mean passion or strong emotions. This leads to the popular advice to “follow your heart,” which often translates to simply “follow your feelings.” While sometimes harmless, this philosophy has resulted in many broken and unfruitful lives.
The truth is, our hearts are far more complex and central to our lives than just our emotions. Understanding the heart from a deeper perspective is transformative. Let’s explore three foundational truths about your heart that go beyond fleeting feelings and can change the way you live.
1. Your Heart is Your Life's Operating System, Not Just Your Emotions
The first key insight is that the heart is the "control center" or "operating system" for your entire life, not just the seat of your emotions. It's the source of our desires, which encompass not just cravings, but our core values, priorities, and motivations. The Bible speaks to this with striking clarity and urgency.
Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it. (Proverbs 4:23)
This concept is profoundly impactful because it reveals that no area of our life is untouched by the condition of our heart. The verse literally says that from our heart “come the outflows of life.” To neglect the heart while focusing on other important areas—career, finances, relationships—is like trying to fix individual programs on a computer while ignoring a malfunctioning operating system. This is why we are commanded to guard it “above all else,” like a sentry guarding the gate of a city with the warning of death for negligence. Everything flows from this central core, making its health a life-or-death priority.
2. Your Heart is Your Decision-Making HQ, Not an Impulse Reactor
We often make decisions impulsively, reacting to external pressures or internal whims. However, true, mature decisions are formed in the heart before any action is taken. They are based on conviction and reflection, not on fleeting feelings. The Bible teaches that our actions should not come from “reluctance” (that is, not sorrow-driven or regretful) or from “compulsion” (not necessity-driven or because of external coercion).
Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion... (2 Corinthians 9:7)
This passage, while about giving, applies to every area of our lives. A transformed heart allows us to choose our responses thoughtfully instead of just reacting out of habit. This reframes decision-making from a reactive process to a proactive one, where we reflect on God's truth and resolve a matter internally first. The heart is where true freedom meets conviction—where our most important decisions are formed before actions are ever taken.
3. Your Heart is Your Inner Compass, Not a Neutral Observer
It’s easy to think that we approach decisions from a neutral starting point. But the third truth is that the heart is not neutral; it has a pre-existing orientation that points you in one direction or another. It acts as an inner compass. A verse in Ecclesiastes puts it this way, with the literal translation being, “The heart of a wise person is to his right, but the heart of a fool is to his left.”
The heart of the wise inclines to the right, but the heart of the fool to the left. (Ecclesiastes 10:2)
In biblical imagery, the "right" is associated with skill, strength, and what is fitting, while the "left" often connotes weakness or misjudgment. A wise heart, therefore, is trained to incline toward what is responsible and life-giving. A foolish heart, by contrast, drifts toward what feels easier, self-protective, short-sighted, or fleshy. This idea is crucial: our inner orientation fundamentally shapes our path before we even take the first step.
Conclusion: The Direction of Your Life
Your heart is not merely a wellspring of emotion to be followed without question. It is your life’s operating system that powers your desires, the headquarters where your decisions are formed, and the inner compass that sets your direction.
Ultimately, this means that your entire life is shaped by its condition.
Your character and conduct is a matter of the heart.
This can feel like an overwhelming responsibility, but this truth is not meant to be a burden. It’s an invitation. We cannot perfect our own hearts through sheer willpower, because only God can transform the heart.
The first step is allowing Him to reveal its true state. As you move forward, ask yourself this honest question, “What is God revealing to me about the condition of my heart?” Remember, when God exposes the heart, it is not to shame us, but to invite us to healing.
Note: Thie article was produced by NotebookLM using my sermon nottes.
