The Worst Advice in the World

Each year is filled with messages. Emails, texts, instant messages, phone calls, Facebook posts, instagrahams, and tweets ring of the same advice. At times this advice is nearly impossible to ignore. The advice that I am referring to is, "follow your heart". How you choose to respond to this advice will determine the course and quality of your life. Why is this the worst advice in the world? To begin understanding this question read the passage below.

Read 1 John 3:19-23 (ESV)

19 By this we shall know that we are of the truth and reassure our heart before him;

20 for whenever our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and he knows everything.

21 Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence before God;

22 and whatever we ask we receive from him, because we keep his commandments and do what pleases him.

23 And this is his commandment, that we believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ and love one another, just as he has commanded us.

Based upon this passage I would suggest ignoring the worst advice in the world by listening to God, not your heart. When the Bible refers to your heart it speaks about your thoughts, emotions and desires. Please consider the following reasons why I am suggesting this. 

1.   Our hearts need reassurance that we are in the truth. V. 19

2.   Our hearts will condemn us. V.20

3.   God is greater than our hearts and He knows everything. V.20

4.   An uncondemned heart has confidence before God. V.21

5.   Confidence before God is lived out by keeping His commandments of believing in Jesus and loving others. V.22-23

You may find it very difficult to reject the worst advice in the world because of your heart's power to hinder you with condemnation. What you need to understand is that you can always get up again. Consider Proverbs 24:16, "for the righteous falls seven times and rises again, but the wicked stumble in times of calamity." I want to highlight the fact that this verse speaks of the righteous fall completely. Our heart tell us that if we fall then we must not really be a Christian. The truth is, the righteous fall. In fact people who do well in life are those who know how to get up even when their hearts condemn them. Also consider the following two verses from the New Testament. 

Romans 5:19 ESV 19 For as by the one man's disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man's obedience the many will be made righteous.

1 Peter 3:18 ESV 18 For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit,

After reading this I prayerfully home that you agree that we cannot follow or give the worst advice in all humanity.