By Peggy Still –
While working at her church’s Vacation Bible School this summer, a friend of mine shared a cute story of one of the Kindergartener’s in her class. Each day the children were given a short scripture to memorize. The Bible verse on this particular day was, Let not your heart be troubled (John 14:1).
Asking the class the following day who knew the verse, an anxious little five-year-old girl raised and waved her hand with an, “I know, I know!” Smiling with a somewhat toothless grin she stood and said, “Don’t let your heart get into trouble.” This may not be the exact interpretation of the scripture in John, but it is a good one nonetheless.
Has your heart ever gotten you into trouble? Our heart serves as a guide along with our mind and spirit to keep us on the right path. All three must be functioning in one accord to keep us out of trouble. Decisions only of the heart can lead us into relationships that are not good for us. A tender heart will cause us to misinterpret feelings of sympathy for love. Guided only by our feelings we can become enablers to those with life-draining addictions. Love disguised as emotional dependence causes us to stay in dysfunctional relationships for far too long. These are life-draining relationships not only for the dependent or the addict, but also for the enabler. It keeps us from purposeful living.
How is your heart? Are your ideas about love based on Biblical truths? Check the feelings of your hear against wise thought and spiritual authority. The Word of God is living and active, able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart. Ignoring wisdom and truth can, as a wise five year-old once said, get your heart into trouble.
So true.