Winning the Battle, Part 4: Don’t Follow Your Heart. Really.

In Proverbs 6, God describes seven sins He hates, starting at the top of the human body and moving down: haughty eyes, a lying tongue, hands that kill, a conniving heart, feet that rush into evil, a false witness, and a man who stirs up discord.

Then in Ephesians 6:12-18, God provides a set of practical tools we can use to battle those seven sins, which include the helmet of salvation, the sword of the Spirit, the shield of faith, the breastplate of righteousness, shoes shod with peace, and the belt of truth.

The heart, at the center of the body’s physical, emotional, and spiritual operations, is protected by the breastplate of righteousness.

It’s All Heart

In Bible times, the term “heart” had a much broader meaning than it does today. While modern man separates a person’s mind from his feelings, the ancient concept of heart included more. In scripture, the heart refers to the totality of all our inner selves, from thinking to feeling to decision-making to the will to the personality.

“Just Follow Your Heart.” Should You?

Proverbs 6:18 says that God hates “a heart that devises wicked schemes.” Yet the human heart is incapable – on its own – of innocence. A heart that devises wicked schemes rests in each one of us: “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick. Who can understand it?” (Jeremiah 17:9, ESV).

“Wicked schemes” refer to intentional decisions we make apart from the Holy Spirit’s influence. When left to its own devices, your heart connives and plots of its own design rather than God’s, placing its decisions squarely into the “wicked schemes” camp.

So when you’re advised to “Just follow your heart,” take notice. You’re being tempted to accept deception, acting on your own version of what is right …

Unless you put on the breastplate of righteousness.

What Is the Breastplate of Righteousness?

In ancient times the breastplate was a close-fitting piece of armor, worn as an undergarment, that covered the upper part of the body. It protected the vital organs from the waist up, particularly the heart.

As a piece of spiritual armor, the breastplate protects the heart from its own choices. While your unrestrained heart acts on its own volition out of selfishness or vengeance, your heart protected by the breastplate of righteousness acts from the Holy Spirit, leading you to think, feel, decide, and act in right standing with God.

Think of it as a bullet-proof vest for your inner soul. God’s righteousness covers your heart, placing you in right standing with Him, protecting what goes in, and filling you with the Holy Spirit to guide what comes out of your heart.

“Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it” (Proverbs 4:23, ESV). That’s great advice.

“Follow your heart” or “Guard your heart”? The breastplate of righteousness can’t protect your heart unless you wear it.

Don’t follow your heart. Guard your heart. Put on your breastplate each day.