Give God Your Heart
The Prophet Jeremiah, in Jeremiah 17:5-8, warns us against following our hearts. What good is it to follow a heart that is sinful? Instead of following your heart, Give God Your Heart; after all, it takes more than realizing how weak we are in order to live with worry-free confidence; it takes believing how great and gracious our Lord God is. February 11, 2007.
Ron Knoll works as a diamontologist at a local jeweler. He’s an independently certified diamond expert who, according to his picture in the newspaper ad, would be more than happy to help you follow your heart. That means he’ll sell you a Diamond Circle necklace for $1,000. If our hearts were all that we would follow when shopping for Valentine’s Day gifts or Christmas presents or a car, computer or condo, we’d go bankrupt, bottom out our credit rating, and top the list of the local bill collector. We consider our heart to be the source of what we feel and believe. Yet we sometimes forget that it is infected with the deadly virus of sin. That means if we follow only our heart, and not also our brain, our past experiences, our common sense, or the advice of others, especially the wisdom of God’s Word, our decisions will be defective. Today’s Bible section prints a warning label and slaps it on our hearts with these words, “The heart is deceitful above all things.” Give Ron Knoll your heart melting with Valentine’s Day romance and he’ll sell you a $1,000 diamond necklace your paycheck and pile of bills can’t afford. Don’t be deceived. Don’t follow your heart. Give God Your Heart.
Turn away from the woes of human strength
Today NASA is spinning in circles trying to figure out how an astronaut with such strength and ability as Lisa Nowak could snap, attempting to threaten and possibly kill a woman she regarded as a romantic rival. The answer is simple. Lisa Nowak, like the rest of us, operates with a human heart. And that heart, when completely trusted for its strength and guidance, dangerously deceives.
“Cursed is the one who trusts in man, who depends on flesh for his strength,” God says, “You know better than to trust in ahdahm,” using that Hebrew word to remind us that he made the first human from ahdahm (dirt) and therefore aptly named him Adam. From dirt we came and to dirt we will return. That means we are corruptible, perishable, and dirty. We dishonestly deceive ourselves, believing what we want to be true instead of what really is true. We incapably attempt to handle too much on our own. We unintentionally engage in patterns of unhealthy behavior, doing rotten things to others and ourselves to feel good and look good. In case we miss the point God repeats it with another word. Flesh. That word reminds us how weak and sinful we are by nature. Perhaps you’re familiar with the Bible term “sinful flesh” or “sinful nature.” We all have one. The Bible calls it an enemy of God, says it always acts contrary to God’s will, and tells us to put it do death or it will kill us! And this is where we turn for help?!
That, God says, is the real problem. My flesh, my human heart, my sinful nature – is not what curses me. I am cursed when I follow my heart and trust in my dirt, knowing it can’t help me the way God can. It’s a false sense of security that makes me feel strong when I am not. In today’s gospel Jesus fingers financial stability as a possible false sense of security, “Woe to you who are rich, for you have already received your comfort.” Likewise he calls our contentment in home improvement projects and stocked refrigerators a false sense of security, “Woe to you who are well fed now, for you will go hungry.” He warns that good friends and good times can promote a false sense of security, “Woe to you who laugh now, for you will mourn and weep.” He even alerts us that our approval by others and our good reputation offer a false sense of security, “Woe to you when all people speak well of you.” Money, home improvement, friends and popularity are not the problem. Turning to them for strength is the problem. And it curses us with a heart that “turns away from the Lord.” When trust in human strength then our heart turns away from the Lord to have a love affair with temporary turn-ons. Give God Your Heart.
Trust in the Lord and be blessed
In the third century a Christian was arrested in Rome and asked to renounce his faith. When he wouldn’t he was beaten with clubs and thrown into prison, where he witnessed to the Roman guards and one of them became a Christian. The emperor was so infuriated that he had the man beheaded. His name was Valentine. Years later, Christians took issue with the mid-February pagan custom of single men drawing the names of single women in their village and sending them a gift in honor of a Roman goddess. Rather than condemning the practice altogether, Christians suggested giving gifts in memory of Valentine. Some historians say that the symbol of the heart with the arrow through it depicts one of the ways the Roman soldiers used to kill Christians, by allowing archers to use them for target practice. Wouldn’t you rather have your faith-filled heart pierced with the arrow of a Roman soldier than explode from being too filled with dirty and deceptive human strength?
“Blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in him.” When we trust in the Lord, that’s confidence! The Bible puts it this way, “No matter how many promises God has made, they are “Yes” in Christ. And so through him the “Amen” is spoken by us to the glory of God. God makes … you stand firm in Christ” (2 Corinthians 1:20,21). Those are fist-pumping-foot-stomping words of confidence. Yes! Amen! Everything God says will come true for those who believe will happen in your life because of the certain living and dying and rising of Jesus Christ. You have a kind of uncertain hope that you’ll work things out in your relationship but with God’s promises you have the right to expect confidently that God will work all things out for the good of those who love him. Yes! You have a kind of uncertain hope that your career will remain stable or retirement will develop as planned but with God’s promises you have the right to expect confidently that God has perfect plans in place for you. Yes! You have the kind of uncertain hope that you’ll feel better about yourself tomorrow but with God’s promises you have the right to expect confidently that God always feels good about you in his forgiving love through Jesus Christ. Yes!
“Blessed are you” Jesus says to believers (Luke 6:17). Trust in the Lord and be blessed “like a tree planted by the water.” Look to the Lord and you’ll have peace, contentment and satisfaction in life which, by the way, aren’t the same as not having problems. Just because you’re blessed doesn’t mean you won’t have problems. You will. Jesus says so. But being blessed means having peace, contentment and satisfaction in the midst of all the problems! The tree planted by water experiences the problem of extreme heat but “does not fear,” experiences the problem of a year of drought but “has no worries,” experiences minimal sunshine or pesky insects but “never fails to bear fruit” because it is planted by the water. Be ready for problems. Plant yourself by Jesus Christ. You won’t be afraid, you won’t worry, and you will produce behavior that pleases God when you Give God Your Heart
In Greek mythology Atlas was condemned to carry the weight of the world on his shoulders. That was as harsh of a punishment as the Greek mind could conjure up. Then why is it that today we often volunteer to play the role of Atlas? Why is it that we place the world on our shoulders when we know it is such a painfully impossible task to carry its weight? The Lord can do a much better job. But it takes more than realizing how weak we are in order to live with worry-free confidence. It takes believing how great and gracious our Lord God is. We can’t even see all the stars. Our Lord God knows them by name. We can’t reach up a grab a cloud by the tail. Our Lord God places each one right where he wants it. Our strength can’t compare to a horse, much less to a prowling lion like Satan, but our strength isn’t what saves us. Our Lord God’s strength saves us. Our Lord God’s strength has angrily pinned the devil to hell so that he can’t throw you around at his will. Our Lord God’s strength has powerfully put death in a head lock so that you can walk right through the gates of eternal life. Our Lord God’s strength has positioned a force field of faith and forgiveness around you that shields you from temptation’s power. Don’t follow your heart. “Blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in him.” Give God Your Heart. Amen.
Preached at Grace Lutheran Church, Milwaukee, WI (www.gracedowntown.org) on February 11, 2007
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