The Unknowable Heart

Jeremiah 17:9 "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?"

I think the prevailing wisdom among humans today is that the heart is good by and large. We do good when we can or it doesn't violate our self interest. And when we do bad then we should be punished.

The problem with that line of thinking is that we are deluded. Our hearts - and I'm thinking of the "who we are as a person" kind of heart - have fooled us greatly. Instead of good deep down, we are really evil.

I have an apple tree in my backyard. I must confess I didn't do anything for it other than prune this year. Some apples fell off, and others looked really good. I picked one of those great looking apples and took a big bite. Inside it was all eaten away and the worm that had gotten in was still there wiggling around.

For us our hearts are much the same. We surround outselves with a good looking shell of good works and warm feelings. But inside we have a worm - its called "sin." Sin is doing anything outside the character of God. If we look closely at ourselves we do not measure up to God's purity. One example: if you have ever lied then the worm of sin has infected you.

The worm of sin has made our hearts terminal. We have congestive heart failure in our spirits. The only way to save us is to turn to the One - the Great Physician - God Himself - Jesus Christ.

Our hearts are like a really good con man. You think you are good when you really are not. Don't blame God, it is our fault. Look to His Word to find out what we are really supposed to be like, then rely on Him to give you that life and rightness, starting with having a relationship with Him.

Oh - and read the section of Jeremiah just before the verse I shared at the top. It shows what a person is like who trusts in the Lord. No bad apples there!

Pastor Tom