Blue Tassels

          All of us have things that roll around over and over in our minds, phrases, things we have heard over and over throughout our lives; in psychology, it is called a feedback loop. For instance, if your mother said "you are just like your father" over and over you may very well grow up and become "just like your father." These things mark us for life for good or bad. If your dad was a wonderful guy and your mom said "you are just like your dad" then it would leave a positive mark perhaps even giving you the courage to face some difficulty. But, what about the things heard from society phrases that sound good and sensible? How about things that well-meaning friends, movies, songs tell us to do such as "just follow your heart."?
          Many will not agree with this, however, “just follow your heart” is not always sound advice, there need to be some contingencies with that advice. Following your heart might take you down a path to much pain which may cause you to reflect on what caused your pain. “How could it end with disaster if I followed my heart”? The answer is in the contingency, who is guiding your heart?
            I think it is human nature to blame others when we have disasters, failure, and suffering in our lives. Perhaps it was that girl, or that guy, or the government, or the economy or just fill in the blank, there may even be some truth to our claim, maybe that person did cheat, or lie to you or break their promise. However, we only need to look at the cause and effect of our actions to determine if following our heart was a wise decision in the first place. As the saying goes “hindsight is 20/20”.
            Compare the advice to “just follow your heart” to what the Bible reveals on the subject by identifying the conditions of the heart.
“The heart is more deceitful than all else And is desperately sick; Who can understand it? (Jeremiah 17:9) (The heart in his verse is inclusive to all humanity.)
·       The heart is more deceitful than anything else.
·       The heart is desperately sick.

            The conclusion is that the human heart is not to be trusted. The heart, when left to its own desires, will choose sin. When making decisions make them based on ownership of your heart, if you have given your heart to God then let Him guide you to the honest, healthy decision. Then leave all the consequences up to Him. Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee. (Psalm 119:11) King David wrote that Psalm, the same King who committed horrible sin against God and man. David gives the key; we need God’s Word in our heart to keep us from ourselves.
          There is a passage in the Book of Numbers I personally identify with. I have in the past followed my heart and the desires of my own eyes and ended up in a sense playing the harlot. (Just like Israel did).  I put my desire for being married above my desire to follow God's plan. Even though my actions were seemingly honorable, (marriage and commitment) in the end, I ended up with my heart broken on two accounts, one was the broken relationship, the other with the damage to my fellowship with God.
          In this passage, Israel is commanded to put blue tassels on their clothes so they will remember to keep the commandments of the Lord and not follow the desires of their heart, the tassels are there to remind them of the commandments of the Lord so they would not repeat their moral failures of the past.
“Speak to the sons of Israel, and tell them that they shall make for themselves tassels on the corners of their garments throughout their generations, and that they shall put on the tassel of each corner a cord of blue.  It shall be a tassel for you to look at and remember all the commandments of the Lord, so as to do them and not follow after your own heart and your own eyes, after which you played the harlot,”  (Numbers 15:38-39)

·       Look at and remember all the commandments of the Lord
·       So as to do them, not follow after your own heart and your own eyes
·       (which resulted in harlotry)
           
Rejoice, young man, during your childhood, and let your heart be pleasant during the days of young manhood. And follow the impulses of your heart and the desires of your eyes. Yet know that God will bring you to judgment for all these things. (Ecclesiastes 11:9)

            Solomon is instructing us to possess the insight to look ahead, challenging us to answer where could our dreams & desires and impulses lead to? Every decision you make has eternal consequences both good and bad. A heart submitted and directed by God may be telling you to call on an elderly shut-in from your church bringing them dinner giving a few hours of your time; that would be a heart directed by God. (The judgment of God in that situation would be for a reward.) On the other hand what if the heart is telling you to have a relationship with someone who is not a Christian? Or even worse, married. What if that person fills all the checks of what you desire, they are attractive, smart, fun loving, come from a great family, have a great career, are courteous, but they are not a Christian or are married, or of the same gender, what should you do? Should you “follow your heart”? 
Do not be bound together with unbelievers; for what partnership have righteousness and lawlessness, or what fellowship has light with darkness. (2 Corinthians 6:14)

            There are many reasons to obey God’s commandments, by obeying the call to salvation you will have eternal life, by obeying the instructions you hide in your heart you will develop unshakeable character in life, those character qualities will guide you in being successful in life. The truth is, the blessing of God comes to those who keep his Word, they seek his word with their whole heart, they do not set aside any part of their heart as their own by holding a grudge, cherishing a sin. The result is their walk is right, and the actions of their lives represent they are following God’s will for their lives.
            Blessed are they that keep his testimonies, and that seek him with the whole heart. They also do no iniquity: they walk in his ways. (Psalm 119:2-3)
         
          I know that many people who do not put their faith (trust) in the God of the Bible do so because they have had their hearts broken in some unfair way. Maybe they brought it on themselves by not heeding the warnings in Scripture, or wise parents or grandparents. Maybe they put faith in people they should have been able to trust such as parents and grandparents and were let down and had their heart broken. However, we are commanded to trust Him, not them, not even ourselves. If you haven’t given Him ownership of your heart, now is the time to do so. After all, he is the only one who can heal your broken heart and give you a new one. 
          He heals the brokenhearted And binds up their wounds. (Psalm 147:3)
And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. (Ezekiel 36:26)

Take delight in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart. (Psalm 37:4)
This old imperfect Hymn embodies this message. Make it your blue tassel.