Dangers of Following Your Own Heart

Growing up, I absolutely loved “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.” (Ask the kids who their favorite Ninja Turtle is, as if they know them.) The Turtles were so cool, and I remember in one of the movies, there was a song in the movie that had the lyric, “Follow your heart.” That is a good message, right?  

Have you ever heard the phrase, “Follow your heart”? If so, where have you heard it from?  

That seems like a good message. Our heart is good, right? Is it not where our love comes from?  

Read Jeremiah 17:9-10. 

What does this passage say about our hearts?  

Jeremiah is saying our hearts are “deceitful” and “sick!”  

Would you follow someone who is lying to you? Why or why not? 

In Genesis chapter 16, Sarai and Abram wanted a child so badly that they put having a child ahead of what God had planned for them. Their hearts were focused on that instead of God and they messed up because of it. Just like them, we can think our heart knows what is best for us when only God truly knows what is best for us. 

Read Isaiah 48:17: “Thus says the Lord, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel: ‘I am the Lord your God, who teaches you to profit, who leads you in the way you should go.’” 

What are some hard things you face in life? 

How can your heart deceive you in those situations? 

Why is God’s way better than our heart’s way? 

Family Prayer: Pray with your family. Search your heart and give it all to God. He knows what is best for you.