The heart is deceitful above all things,
and desperately wicked:
who can know it?
Jeremiah 17:9
In our modern age, many people attend church services primarily to receive emotional support or to experience an emotional high. Emotionalism permeates nearly every aspect of contemporary life. A well-crafted movie can stir our feelings, but a truly great film takes us on an intense emotional rollercoaster ride. The same principle applies to advertisements, political speeches, and church services alike, whether they’re proclaiming biblical truth or falsehood. The strategy is simple: stir the emotions, captivate the audience, and secure their emotional attachment.
The prophet Jeremiah offers a sobering diagnosis of the human condition:
The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked:
This verse reminds us that our own hearts cannot be trusted to lead us. Our feelings often deceive us, pulling us toward what feels right rather than what is truly right according to God’s word. On numerous occasions, I have been told that it just felt right. Emotionalism is one of Satan’s favorite devices.
Biblical Christianity maintains a balanced view of emotions. It acknowledges their value but insists they must be constrained by reason and firmly grounded in the diligent study of Scripture. Emotions should follow truth, never precede it.
The Apostle Paul exemplified this approach in his ministry:
Acts 17:2 And Paul, as his manner was, went in unto them, and three sabbath days reasoned with them out of the scriptures.
Paul didn’t rely on emotional appeals or dramatic presentations. Instead, he reasoned from the Scriptures, engaging minds as well as hearts.
Proverbs 28:26 He that trusteth in his own heart is a fool: but whoso walketh wisely, he shall be delivered.
Leading with emotion, or allowing ourselves to be led by emotional responses, represents one of the most undesirable traits of our fallen human nature. Throughout church history, yielding to emotional temptation has proven to be the bane of Christianity, leading to doctrinal errors, spiritual deception, and moral compromise. Emotional attachments and temptations can be especially dangerous because they often operate subtly, almost imperceptibly, making them difficult to recognize and resist.
Emotions are indeed a gift from God, but good only when properly controlled and constrained by reason, truth, and the authoritative guidance of Scripture. When emotions are allowed to lead, we risk being deceived by our own deceitful hearts. True spiritual growth comes not from chasing emotional experiences, but from anchoring ourselves in the unchanging truth of God’s word.
Being led by the heart produces the following: even a simple thought or act can be categorized as evil.
Genesis 6:5 And GOD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.
Jeremiah 16:12 And ye have done worse than your fathers; for, behold, ye walk every one after the imagination of his evil heart, that they may not hearken unto me:
Mark 7:21-23 For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, 22Thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness: 23All these evil things come from within, and defile the man.
The saints are obligated to deny feelings, direct our hearts, and trust in the word of God.
Proverbs 3:5 Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.