Have you ever heard you shouldn't trust yourself or that your heart is deceitful? It comes from well meaning Christians who are simply regurgitating what they have been taught, specifically around Jeremiah 17:9. Ironically, it also comes from people who live in fear...fear that people will choose sin (because that's apparently what we all want); or that people won't behave the same way WE think they should behave (enter control).
I saw this post recently that was shared by thousands of people:
"Follow your heart" has ended more marriages, mutilated more bodies, destroyed more souls, and ended more lives than the devil could have ever imagined. It is Hell's most effective slogan yet."
I'm sorry, but no. Teaching people they are separate from God at any stage of their life, dismissing emotions and trauma, and re-empowering a disempowered 'devil' is what has done those things. Preaching fear like this is what causes people to not trust what God has given us: which is a heart full of love and emotions - something we shouldn't just sweep under the rug. When we don't create safe spaces to explore emotions and doubt faith, we create organizations where people learn to wear their masks differently.
In fact, I believe one of the most damning messages in Christianity is to not trust yourself. At one time, I even taught this. We are often taught to disconnect from our emotions and intellect because "our flesh is bad." However, that just prolongs our journey to reconnect with our original design. This idea that humans are rotten at the core goes against everything God has to say about His creation. And no, sin does not have the power to change your original design. That would make sin more powerful than the Creator - and it's time we start calling that message heresy. Sin should never have a starring role in our Gospel presentations. When sin or behavior has a starring role, we're choosing to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil instead of the tree of life.
But I get it, we have Jeremiah 17:9 which says, "The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure, who can understand it?" Which is always quoted to affirm why people believe and teach to not trust yourself.
So let's unpack it, because it sounds pretty 'clear'. It's important to know this is Jeremiah speaking to Judah, not to us in the 21st Century. And throughout this portion of writing, he's warning of the coming Babylonian invasion. However, he goes on to speak of a day of a new covenant and new hearts. This specific verse in Chapter 17 is a caution, not a condemnation. It's not a pronouncement of all of humanity - he's addressing the people of Judah who have turned from trusting God. He's addressing THEIR disobedience. It's also worth noting that verse 8 says there were people who trusted God and were blessed (which is still an old covenant thought process). Revealing that some people's hearts were not deceitful. Bible scholar Pete Enns says, "To say this verse is suggesting that we can't trust ourselves or that the heart is evil at all times and all places, is not good biblical interpretation."
In fact, The Hebrew word translated “deceitful” is actually not a word that connotes negativity. “Mysterious” would be more accurate. And the word translated “desperately sick or beyond cure” is more accurately translated as weak or vulnerable, and is shockingly used to describe the Messiah. I know, mind blowing. Here's how the Septuagint translates it - “The heart is deep beyond all things and it is the man. Even so, who can know him?” Looking at this in context, it makes much more sense.
Bible scholar David Sloan continues this idea and says, "When the Lord searches the heart of Jeremiah, he finds goodness. Is Jeremiah’s heart “deceitful”? Only in the sense that if people in his day tried to understand it, they would judge him WRONGLY. Is the heart of Jeremiah’s opponents deceitful? Jeremiah says it is in the sense that people would look at them as people of faith, when they weren't. Jeremiah 17:9 does not mean we cannot trust our hearts. It means we do not see people’s hearts the way God sees them. In this sense the heart is deceitful. Does this mean we have no hope of understanding our hearts? No. The infilling of the Holy Spirit gives us the mind of Christ (1 Corinthians 2:16) so we can start to see things as God sees them."
But what about Mark 7:21-23 that says, "What comes out of a person is what defiles them. For it is from within, out of a person's heart, that evil thoughts come..."? I'm so glad you asked. In Mark 7, Jesus is speaking to Pharisees and some of the teachers of the law. They asked Jesus why His disciples don't live according to the traditions (rules, law living). Man does Jesus give a religious rebuking. Not only does he quote Isaiah by saying, "These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me." (which again, reread David Sloan's take) He continues by telling them they nullify the word of God by their traditions (rules, law living). Enter Michael Jackson eating popcorn gif. For the record, the only sin Jesus publicly condemned was religious sin like this. When Jesus says what He says in verses 21-23, he is declaring all foods clean (which was crazy to a Jew), but he was emphasizing a law of love, not a law of rules. What defiles someone is how they treat and talk to people. Especially how church going people treat and talk to people who don't believe like them. We are responsible for how we treat others.
In case you missed it, the heart being 'deceitful' means to view people through a lens that is not loving. It's to see people's shortcomings and still not believe the best about them. It's to look at humanity without the lens of Jesus. And by doing so, you'll make judgments about people that misrepresents the heart of the Father.
I’m tired of Christian’s not trusting their instincts because they’ve been told their heart is corrupt - as if you aren’t intertwined with the Spirit. You know that verse in Isaiah (40:31) that says, "those who wait in the Lord will renew their strength..." Preachers love to use this verse to challenge people to wait. I'm not against waiting, but that word wait is the word Kawa in Hebrew and it means, to intertwine. Waiting can often be very boring. Intertwining is incredibly exciting. Intertwining is a conscious awareness of the beauty of God in all and through all.
In the new covenant, we have the mind of Christ (1 Corinthians 2:16). The mind of Christ empowers us to deal with our emotions, not ignore or invalidate them. God has inscribed His laws on our hearts (Romans 2, 2 Corinthians 3). These laws are not the 10 commandments, traditions, or rules. According to John, the only command in the new covenant is to love like Christ has loved us. That's what is inscribed on our hearts. We were designed to see beauty and beauty is what will change the world. No wonder the church is confused, we keep dismissing emotions by telling people not to trust their God given instincts.
So please start trusting your heart. There is no separation between you and the Father. To trust yourself is to trust God. You are intertwined with the Spirit. Tap into your emotions and instincts; don't sweep them under the rug. This may be your nudge to start dealing with your painful experiences and trauma. The Spirit will guide you into all truth. As Romans 6:17 says, "But thanks be to God that, though you used to be slaves to sin, you have come to obey from your heart the pattern of teaching that has now claimed your allegiance." But don't I want sin? Isn't my desire to sin? NO, my heart does not want sin. My heart wants love, connection, acceptance, and empowerment. My heart is already full of the righteousness of God, and so is yours - you just might not be aware of it. It's time we walk confidently in our sonship or daughterhood. At your core, you were created in His image and likeness. You are an image-bearer; you are His beloved; God trusts you.