Originally posted 6/28/24
A post has been going around on Facebook lately about five things that are often said to others but have no biblical basis. It would behoove us to look at these popular statements and see what the Bible says about them.
Follow your heart.
People are typically told to follow their heart when they are trying to make a decision. It is also a phrase used in relationships. What does your heart tell you to do? Just follow your heart.
Scripture is clear about following our heart. Jeremiah 17:9 says “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?” If our heart is deceitful perhaps we should not be following it? Shortly before the flood, Genesis 6:5 says, “The LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.” Matthew 15:18-19 But what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this defiles a person. For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander.
[Hebrews 4:12 “For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.” [James 1:26 “If anyone thinks he is religious and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his heart, this person’s religion is worthless.”
Throughout the gospels, Jesus tells people to follow him. There is no spot in Scripture where the advice is to follow your heart. The only thing we can depend on is following Christ. Matthew 19:21 says, “Jesus said to him, “If you would be perfect, go, sell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.”
Mark 1:17 says. “And Jesus said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you become fishers of men.”
Mark 2:14 says. “And as he passed by, he saw Levi the son of Alphaeus sitting at the tax booth, and he said to him, “Follow me.” And he rose and followed him.”
John 10:27 says, “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.”
Jesus said we were to follow him, not our heart. Our hearts are not reliable. We can convince ourselves to do just about anything. We are experts of rationalizing poor behavior. Maybe your heart leads you better than mine, but I seriously doubt it.
Be true to yourself
When you hear “be true to yourself”, what do you envision? Are you doing only what you want? Are you concerned for anyone other than yourself? What do you do when what you wants conflicts with the wants of someone else?
Being true to yourself is doing what you think is right at the time. Unfortunately if everyone is doing what seems right to them, there is no standard and little good is happening. It reminds me of the events in the book of Judges. Judges 17:6 says, “In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes.” It really was a disaster. Everyone was doing their own thing and nothing went well. Doing what I want is often at odds with what God wants. Even the most devoted believer struggles with pleasing God over pleasing self. The Lord knew that being true to ourselves wasn’t a reliable plan. In Scripture there are several examples where Jesus addresses this very issue.
Jesus did not say that we were to follow our heart. He said we were to follow him. Matthew 16:24 “Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone wants to come after Me, he must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow Me.”
Psalm 2:11 says, “Serve the LORD with fear, and rejoice with trembling.” If we are called to deny ourselves and serve the Lord, then we cannot just be true to ourselves. We must be true to Christ.
Believe in Yourself
Do you believe this?” I could believe in myself and my ability to run a 5K. My confidence in myself does not match my abilities. I can believe that I can play a complicated piano piece. However, the first few measures would cause reality to set in. There is nothing wrong with having self confidence. However, we need to be realistic in our beliefs. We also need to remember that our untilimate belief rests in the Lord.
The Lord wants us to put our trust in Him and not in ourselves. Our belief in ourself will not be enough to enter heaven. John 14:1, “Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me.” John 14:11 “Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me, or else believe on account of the works themselves.” John 17:21 “that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me.” John 11:26 “and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die.”
Live your Truth
I cringe every time I hear this statement. It’s all over social media and the news. Speak your truth and live your truth are dangerous statments and beliefs. There is only one absolute truth. If everyone is living their own truth, we are making ourselves little gods with no respect for the one true God. There is only one truth. John 14:6 “said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” There is no truth other than God’s truth. If you don’t believe, me open your Bible to Genesis and begin reading. It’s on every page of Scripture.
There is no verse in the Bible that indicates that truth changes or that we each have our own truth. Here are a few verses about truth:
Psalm 15:2, “He who walks blamelessly and does what is right and speaks truth in his heart;”
[Psalm 25:5, “Lead me in your truth and teach me, for you are the God of my salvation; for you I wait all the day long.” Psalm 86:11, “Teach me your way, O LORD, that I may walk in your truth; unite my heart to fear your name.”
Psalm 119:160, “The sum of your word is truth, and every one of your righteous rules endures forever.”
Psalm 145:18, “The LORD is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth.”
John 5:33, “You sent to John, and he has borne witness to the truth.”
John 8:32, “and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” John 16:13, “When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come.”
John 17:17, “Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth.”
Romans 2:8, “but for those who are self-seeking and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, there will be wrath and fury.”
1 Corinthians 13:6, “it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth.” 2 Timothy 2:15, “Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth.”
1 John 1:8, “If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.” 1 John 2:4, “Whoever says “I know him” but does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him,”
1 John 2:21 “I write to you, not because you do not know the truth, but because you know it, and because no lie is of the truth.”
1 John 3:18-19 “Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth. By this we shall know that we are of the truth and reassure our heart before him;” 3 John 1:4, “I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth.”
As long as you are happy–
We want to be happy. We want our children to be happy. However, doing things that only make us happy is pretty unrealistic. Doing things that make me happy often contradict with what I know I should be doing. I can guarantee that eating ice cream every night for dinner would make me extremely happy. However, it is not what I should do and it definitely isn’t good for me. Many people claim they are not happy and will quit their job or maybe leave a marriage.
In Matthew 16:26 Jesus says, “For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul?” In Job 5:17 we read, “Behold, happy [is] the man whom God correcteth: therefore despise not thou the chastening of the Almighty:”
Many have said that God wants us to be happy. Let’s look at some verses that talk about our happiness. I’ve used the King James Version because it uses the word, “happy”. I will warn you that I did not find any verse that supports that belief.
Psalm 128:2 For thou shalt eat the labour of thine hands: happy [shalt] thou [be], and [it shall be] well with thee.
Psalm 146:5 Happy [is he] that [hath] the God of Jacob for his help, whose hope [is] in the LORD his God:
Proverbs 3:13 Happy [is] the man [that] findeth wisdom, and the man [that] getteth understanding.
Proverbs 14:21 He that despiseth his neighbour sinneth: but he that hath mercy on the poor, happy [is] he.
Proverbs 16:20 He that handleth a matter wisely shall find good: and whoso trusteth in the LORD, happy [is] he.
Proverbs 28:14 “Happy [is] the man that feareth alway: but he that hardeneth his heart shall fall into mischief.”
Proverbs 29:18 Where [there is] no vision, the people perish: but he that keepeth the law, happy [is] he.
1 Peter 3:14 “But and if ye suffer for righteousness’ sake, happy [are ye]: and be not afraid of their terror, neither be troubled;“
1 Peter 4:14 “If ye be reproached for the name of Christ, happy [are ye]; for the spirit of glory and of God resteth upon you: on their part he is evil spoken of, but on your part he is glorified.“
God seems to be much more concerned with my spiritual well-being and not my happiness. According to www.gotquestions.org, “Augustine of Hippo rightly stated in his fourth-century book Confessions, “Thou hast made us for thyself, O Lord, and our heart is restless until it finds its rest in thee.” The truth is there is a “God-shaped vacuum” in the heart of every person, and that void can only be filled by God through Christ, not by any created thing.
Happiness is a gift from God that can be fully known only in proper relationship with Him”
The only happiness I can every hope to have comes from my relationship with the Lord. I will leave you with two final thoughts from Scripture. Psalm 37:4, “Delight yourself in the LORD, and he will give you the desires of your heart.” Psalm 97:12, “Rejoice in the LORD, O you righteous, and give thanks to his holy name!”
#faith, #Bible, #Scriptures, #Christian Women, #Discipleship, #womenintheBible, #behappy