Remedy For A Deceitful Heart

When the heart is deceived, the person who has it does not even “know it.” However, the Bible provides us with some guidance to help us determine if our hearts are deceived. Obviously, if we “serve other gods, and worship them” (Deut 11:16), then our hearts are deceived! Many religious folks claim to worship a god or many gods (1 Cor 8:5), but not the God of the Bible. The Pharisees thought that they were serving God, but Jesus revealed the truth that they were actually serving their “father the devil” (Jn 8:44). Many marriages today are destroyed because the heart of either the husband or wife was deceived through the enticement of another person (Job 31:9).

 When your heart deceives you in this situation, you will be “drawn away” (Jms 1:14), to another man or woman who is not your spouse (Mt 5:28). Infatuation is only temporary and is based solely on the lust of the heart (Prov 6:25). God’s design for marriage (Gen 2:24), is a sacred bond woven with love (Eph 5:25), and a lifetime commitment (Mk 10:9)! Another way that hearts can be deceived is when people “imagine evil” (Prov 12:20). God destroyed an entire generation during Noah’s time because every imagination of the thoughts of their hearts was “only evil continually” (Gen 6:5).

 A deceitful heart will always imagine evil (Zec 8:17). They would either justify or deny their imagination so they can continue to harbor those evil thoughts. Their only remedy is to make sure they have a real relationship with Jesus, by trusting Him alone as their Saviour by faith (Eph 2:8). He will help them cast “down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God” (2 Cor 10:5). Pride (Prov 29:23), is always behind a deceitful heart – they become arrogant, self-sufficient, strong-willed, and ambitious. But when you humble yourself before God (Jms 4:10), He will reveal the deception in your heart (Ps 26:2), so you can ask Him for help to change it! God bless you!

-Pastor Melito Barrera