The Heart Asks Pleasure First

Most people who know me know that I don't believe in the idea of following one's heart. If conflicting, I believe one's intellect and reason should always take precedence over one's feelings. Feelings can lie, or lead one to do selfish, foolish things.

Jeremiah 17:9 says, "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?"

I know that believing this makes me disagree with almost every romantic comedy and children's movie. Think about any movie in which the main character is with a reliable, if boring, person. The main character than meets someone attractive and exciting, and decides to follow the giddy feeling of infatuation. Is this the smartest thing to do? Not in every case.

The other side of the heart is one I normally don't think of. Proverbs 4:23 says, " Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life. " I suppose our emotions can be either good and bad. The Bible speaks many times of God creating pure hearts in us. This is something I want: for God to create a clean, pure heart in me that conforms to his will, so I don't have to fight against unreasonable emotions. I want to desire what is right, rather than having to reason away sinful desires.

While I am on the subject of the heart, this is a lovely song that I recommend listening to. I am learning it on the piano right now, and it is actually easier than it sounds. The Heart Asks Pleasure First

The title comes from an Emily Dickinson poem:

The heart asks pleasure first,

And then, excuse from pain;

And then, those little anodynes

That deaden suffering;

And then, to go to sleep;

And then, if it should be

The will of its Inquisitor,

The liberty to die