Our culture has become increasingly driven by emotion. We love by emotion, and a fading emotion means a fading love. We value ourselves based on how we feel, constantly needing to pursue pleasure in order to give our lives worth. Yet when God speaks about our hearts, He is speaking about so much more than what we feel.
More than a feeling
First, let’s remember that language changes over time. Today, we use “heart” as a picture of how something makes us feel:
“It warms my heart to see my kids play together.”
“I just feel this… anger in my heart.”
“Anakin, you’re breaking my heart.”
A problem begins when we try attributing that same idea to the Bible. Without realizing it, we start to get the impression that our lives in Christ are purely based on emotion. We start to gauge our relationship to God based on how we feel about Him. Our decisions to pursue sin or righteousness come down to what we feel like doing in the moment.
Let’s look at three Bible verses that talk about the heart, but we’ll substitute “heart” with “emotions” and see if they make any sense.
The good man out of the good treasure of his [emotions] brings forth what is good; and the evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth what is evil; for his mouth speaks from that which fills his [emotions]. (Luke 6:45)
Emotions could work here, but Christ seems to be hinting at something much deeper than just “People say what they feel.” He’s talking about our hearts showing who we truly are, not just what we feel.
Create in me a clean [emotion], O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. (Psalm 51:10)
Here, David is using a clean heart and steadfast spirit with the same meaning. If he’s just talking about getting good emotions, why would he talk about something else that is so separate to his being?
But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not look at his appearance or at the height of his stature, because I have rejected him; for God sees not as man sees, for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the [emotions].” (1 Samuel 16:7)
God judges people by their emotions? Surely God doesn’t look at something as flippant as our emotions to judge us. What, then, is the heart?
Multi-part hearts
The more we look at the context of God talking about “the heart,” the more we realize how central it is to who we are. We looked at Luke 6:45, where Christ points out that what we say is an accurate reflection of what’s truly inside us. Our words reveal who we truly are. We see this elsewhere.
Watch over your heart with all diligence, for from it flow the springs of life. (Proverbs 4:23)
We are warned to guard our hearts because everything we do begins there. Our hearts are like a steering wheel, and whatever is in charge of our hearts will set the direction our lives.
for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. (Matthew 6:21)
Where we spend our time and money shows us what we value. This goes beyond emotion, revealing those things that truly mean the most to us because of how they dominate where we put our limited resources. Much like our words, our treasure shows what’s truly inside our hearts.
but let it be the hidden person of the heart, with the imperishable quality of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is precious in the sight of God. (1 Peter 3:4)
We are our hearts. More than mere emotions, the Bible uses our hearts to talk about our central being. It’s the core of who we are, pumping thoughts and actions into our lives just as our physical heart pumps blood throughout the body.
Yet just as it’s easy to confuse “heart” and “emotion,” it’s easy to turn the heart into one central thing. Is it our mind? Our conscience? Is it really our emotions after all?
Yes! Our spiritual heart is composed of everything that makes us who we are. Although God’s word gives us a whole list of characteristics that make up who we truly are beyond our physical bodies, they can be summed up in three categories.
Mind
Yet to this day the Lord has not given you a heart to know, nor eyes to see, nor ears to hear.(Deuteronomy 29:4)
If our heart represents our true self, then how we understand everything must be processed there. Just as our eyes and ears help us interpret our physical world, our heart is where we “see” the intangible parts of life.
Though it’s easy to think of our minds in our heads and our emotions in our chest, the reality is that they come from the same place. To feed the mind isn’t to starve our hearts. In fact, feeding our minds keeps everything else about our true self healthy.
And He said to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind” (Matthew 22:37)
Are we made of heart, soul, and mind, with all three housed in our physical body like some quirky reality show? Of course not. We are to love God with everything that we are. Mind, soul, and heart are all who we are, unable to be separated from one another.
For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart. (Hebrews 4:12)
God judges the heart, which is the seat of our thoughts. How we think is a reflection of who we truly are. If we are enemies of God, our thoughts will reflect that. If we are truly and actively pursuing our Savior, then our thoughts will regularly find themselves going in that same direction.
When we wonder where certain thoughts come from, whether good or evil, we don’t need to look any farther than our wicked hearts that have been brought to life by Christ. They aren’t yet perfect, but they are able to set our minds, and therefore our lives, on the path that loves righteousness.
Emotions
The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit. (Psalm 34:18)
The Psalms are absolutely bursting with emotion. So often we want to set the mind and emotions at odds with one another. Someone who is emotional about God is clearly shallow. Someone who thinks deeply is obviously missing an emotional connection. Yet if our hearts and minds are all part of who we are, then both are things that should be properly aligned with Christ.
Emotions are tied to the heart, but the heart isn’t completely, or even primarily, made up of emotion. Our emotions serve as an excellent guide, showing us what we think about a certain situation based on how we emotionally react to it.
Are we angry because someone criticized us? Mostly likely, our minds think we are so important that we are above criticism. Do we have sorrow because we commited that sin again? It’s clear that our minds know we should hate what God hates and mourn at the same sin He mourns for.
Delight yourself in the Lord; and He will give you the desires of your heart. (Psalm 37:4)
Often, our desires are linked directly to our emotions. If we believe something is good, we desire it. We can see this in how people desire comfort, an attractive spouse, money, or fame. If we think it will bring satisfaction, our emotional desires will make us want to act on it.
Conscience
So give Your servant an understanding heart to judge Your people to discern between good and evil. For who is able to judge this great people of Yours?” (1 Kings 3:9)
You adulteresses, do you not know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. (James 4:4)
What we understand about the world will affect how we see right and wrong. If our minds are constantly accepting worldly things as good, then our understanding of right and wrong will likewise be molded in that direction. We cannot possibly hope to love the world without it slowly molding our consciences.
in that they show the work of the Law written in their hearts, their conscience bearing witness and their thoughts alternately accusing or else defending them, (Romans 2:15)
We all know right and wrong, and it’s that knowledge that will give us no excuse as we stand before God and give an account of every single one of His laws that we’ve broken, repeatedly and joyfully, while on this earth. Yet our consciences work hand-in-hand with our minds. God has gifted us with a conscience, and that is what sets the course for everything we do.
Do we do what we know is right, or what we feel that we want? If our minds are convinced that something is right, we will find that our consciences will give us permission to act on it. Alternatively, it’s our conscience that can so often stop us from doing something we really want to do, but know we shouldn’t.
Bringing it all together
In a way, our conscience is tied to our actions. Our minds help our hearts understand the world. Our emotions let us react to the world. Yet it’s our consciences that decide what we do about it.
But so what? It seems like an interesting bit of trivia from a Bible nerd who can’t tolerate people using words incorrectly. Yet when we consider the bigger implications of understanding the heart, we realize just how easily we neglect it to our own destruction.
The heart is more deceitful than all else
And is desperately sick;
Who can understand it?
“I, the Lord, search the heart,
I test the mind,
Even to give to each man according to his ways,
According to the results of his deeds. (Jeremiah 17:9-10)
Consider all we know about the heart. If it’s the core of who we are, a mix our our thoughts, emotions, and actions, then consider what God is saying about us. It’s not that we are good and it’s just our emotions that need correction. It’s absolutely everything within us that cannot be trusted.
We are deceitful to ourselves when it comes to sin. We are desperately sick. God searches our thoughts and desires, seeing the actions that naturally flow from them. Yet despite how wretched and depraved our true self is, God inexplicably wants our hearts more than anything.
Give me your heart, my son, and let your eyes delight in my ways. (Proverbs 23:26)
Imagine it. That same perfect, holy God who sees our true brokeness doesn’t turn away or cast us aside. He wants that sin-drenched heart. He wants that person whose sin put Jesus Christ on that bloody cross. God doesn’t love us because we deserve it, but because He wants to make us new.
He wants our hearts. He deserves our hearts.
When we believe that, we believe everything that implies. He doesn’t need us to think good things about Him or get warm fuzzies on Sunday mornings. He doesn’t want that small emotional reaction that comes from a heart that is still set on the world. After all, how we can have genuine emotions about the one who doesn’t have our minds?
No, Christ didn’t die to change our emotions. He died to bring dead hearts back to life. He took our place so that we could glorify God by devoting our entire selves to Christ. Our Savior came to we could do what we could never do without Him – offer our hearts to God by serving Christ.
If our hearts are turned to Christ, then He is the one who lets discern between truth and the lies told by a world who hates Him. When we see truth, our desires will move us in that direction. And a heart that is given to God leads to a life that shows it.
God is worthy of glory. As Christians, the greatest way we glorify Him is by letting go of our selfish desires and fully giving Him our hearts. Everything we think, desire, and do can only be truly satisfying when they come from a heart that is wholly dedicated to the only one who deserves it.
Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and unfathomable His ways! For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who became His counselor? Or who has first given to Him that it might be paid back to him again? For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be the glory forever. Amen. (Romans 11:33-36)
