Whispers of a Fallen Heart

     We don't make decisions in a vacuum. As much as we'd like to be, we are not objective. The Christian understands -or should- that the spirit and the flesh are at war. In the unsaved, the unrepentant, this isn't really an issue; the flesh pulsates with desires and the mind more or less seeks to fulfill them. In the Christian though, in the life of the redeemed, there is a battle. We are free from the abject domination of sin but the old man isn't dead yet, or rather he's dead but doesn't know it. The real problem is that without practice, without prayer and much effort, it can be difficult if not impossible to distinguish our own thoughts from the whispers of fallen flesh.

     Now when I say “flesh” I don't only mean the literal body. The body has many faculties and systems that are affected by the fall but when I refer to the “flesh” I mean the whole of our sinful being. It's desires and drives are fueled not by God, but by sin and base 'need'. For example: God created marriage and in marriage gave us a wonderful gift, ie. sex. Now in purity that is a relationship that comes after marriage and provides a meaningful and important bonding to the couple, as well as being highly enjoyable. Sin has taken this gift and twisted it. Fallen man see's no need to follow the precepts of God, and even beyond that, actively wants to disobey. So we see that people don't wait till marriage, they don't see that relationship as holy or sacred, they don't give it ANY respect. We see what we see in our day; sexuality out in the open and society allowing any and all activities to be mingled into the act. Now sex doesn't have to be boring and monotonous, but I believe that anything we seek to do in our marriage bed should maintain the holiness and sanctity of the sexual relationship between man and wife. So the flesh wants to be satiated, while the spirit wants that right relationship and to serve God. In our day, though I'm certain there was plenty of tempting sources in the past, we have -especially in this area of life- nearly unlimited sources for sin. The flesh WILL whisper to you, it will lie straight to your face and make you believe that you want something that you don't -if- you let it. And this is only ONE aspect of life!

     A common tag-line for today is to “follow your heart”, heck we hear it from Disney all the time. It's believed that we can only do well by letting our hearts guide us but what does God have to say about our hearts?

Jeremiah 17:9 "The heart is deceitful above all things,

And desperately wicked; Who can know it?”

Hmm, now that doesn't really meld with the modern thought does it? “Deceitful”, “Wicked?” But I thought that our hearts were a true guide, and the true source of who we are. Isn't that what everyone always says? Everyone is wrong. Anyone who is really honest, or anyone who's ever tried to change something in their life can tell you that our hearts do NOT listen to us. They seek only themselves and their desires, giving neither care nor thought to what may be right or wrong. How many people today struggle with “who they are”? How many people spend their whole lives trying to “find themselves?” How many people can't even begin to understand and cope with life because they simply cannot understand themselves? Let's go back to the Word:

Jeremiah 17:5-6 “Thus says the LORD: "Cursed is the man who trusts in man

And makes flesh his strength, Whose heart departs from the LORD.

For he shall be like a shrub in the desert, And shall not see when good comes, But shall inhabit the parched places in the wilderness, In a salt land which is not inhabited.”

Wow, and it goes on to say:

Jeremiah 17:7-8 "Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, And whose hope is the LORD.

For he shall be like a tree planted by the waters, Which spreads out its roots by the river,

And will not fear when heat comes; But its leaf will be green,

And will not be anxious in the year of drought, Nor will cease from yielding fruit.”

     Our hearts will guide us AWAY from righteousness, if we let them. Temptation is a dark companion, a shadowing hanger-on that we have to bear to our graves; but remember Christian, our God is greater! Pray, read, study, work, seek, strive, FIGHT! The world and our own fallen nature are not our allies, they seek our destruction daily. We like to think that were strong, but were not. You cannot win this war alone, nor can you trudge through the mire with only your boots to protect you. Humanity was not made to be 'free', we are servants to God or to Sin. We have a choice to make. Do we struggle daily under our own power ignoring the shadowed whispers -or worse- listening to them, or do we seek God and the salvation only He offers?

Joshua 24:15 "And if it seems evil to you to serve the LORD,

choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve … But as for me and my house,

we will serve the LORD."