How Our Hearts and Desires Can Lead Us Astray

by Henry O. Arnold

In the early years of my theatre training, I read Christopher Marlowe’s play Dr. Faustus. It was one of my first literary experiences encountering someone exerting their human power of choice for their own selfish desires and its consequences.

Dr. Faustus decides to sell his soul to Lucifer in order to obtain his heart’s desire. What he gets in exchange for his soul is the luxury to travel far and wide, to gain great knowledge, to learn and perform different types of magic, and to indulge in every kind of sensual pleasure. Faustus spends the majority of his time using his powers to his own amusement and advantages. When faced with the opportunity to repent, thereby saving his soul—he comes close a few times—but never actually does it. When Lucifer returns to claim his end of the bargain, Dr. Faustus has now lost the power of choice and is dragged off to a very unfortunate end.

What does it mean to have the good life? What standards of measure do we use to know if such a life is achievable? To quote from Os Guinness’ book Fool’s Talk where it states, “What Socrates called the ‘unexamined life’ that is ‘not worth living’ now seems to be the life more people have slipped into than ever before. Most people, in other words, are happily diverted, but not conscious of it.”

Could it be that we are “happily diverted” because our hearts are so easily led astray? If we seek just what brings us pleasure and self-satisfaction, are we not Dr. Faustus insisting that our highest good is found only in the preoccupation of ourselves?

There is a verse in Scripture where the prophet Jeremiah (Jeremiah 17:9), writes, “The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?” In our culture today we are admonished to “follow your heart” as if obedience to this mantra will afford us “our best life.” In biblical context, the heart often represents the center of human will, emotions, and intellect, but the natural deceitfulness of the heart emphasizes our tendency towards sin and self-deception.

Aside from the insidious nature of the word “deceitful,” a deeper Hebrew significance of the word in this verse literally means “tracked by footprints.” Ponder that for a moment. When our heart leads us astray tricking us into making poor life choices there is “trackable” physical evidence left behind like a crime scene: broken relationships, broken careers, broken families, broken hearts. You don’t have to be Sherlock Holmes to put the clues together to reveal the culprit.

The rhetorical question “Who can understand it?” at the end of the verse in Jeremiah emphasizes the complexity and inscrutability of the human heart. It suggests that only God, who searches and knows the heart can truly understand its depths. The question points to the limitations of human understanding and the necessity of relying on God’s wisdom if we are ever to gain insight into our decision-making process.

In my new novel Lion of Judah, book number five in my series The Song of Prophets and Kings, at different points in David’s life he falls under the sway of his own deceitful heart. It is easy to confuse the phrase portraying David as “a man after God’s own heart” to mean that he had some innate moral quality or that his sensitive nature made him more aware of God. God did not choose David because he was upright or perceptive. David was those things, but it was God’s choice over human selection. No committee or counsel or individual could take credit for David becoming king.

The beauty of Scripture is its honesty. David, in his position as king, was an opportunity to show the consequences of being led astray and the chance to reveal God’s response of grace toward David’s “broken and contrite heart” when he cries out to God for mercy. Though the consequences of David’s choices had to play out, God’s forgiveness is not withheld. In several of the psalms attributed to David, he confesses when his heart went astray, God “covered his transgression” every time he repented.

We are easily distracted by the shiny bauble. We devote too much attention to personal comforts and too quickly give in to the desire for self-gratification. If in seeking for what brings pleasure and personal satisfaction, are we no different than a King David, or a Dr. Faustus, or any of us who become preoccupied with ourselves? I’ve heard it said that if we are happy with our version of things and uninterested in anyone else’s, then we have created our own personal autocracy.

Do not be dismayed. There is encouragement. In the Bible the historians wrote in 2 Chronicles 16:9, “For the eyes of the Lord range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him.” The imagery of God’s eyes constantly roaming over His creation is reassuring in light of His desire to intervene and empower the lives of His people. This biblical principal stands forever giving us the opportunity for an abundant life in Him.

When not writing, Henry Arnold can be found hiking on a trail somewhere in the world. He and his lovely wife Kay have two beautiful daughters, married to two handsome men, with three above-average grandchildren. Get a more detailed look at his creative life by visiting www.henryoarnold.com