Don’t (Necessarily) Follow Your Heart: James 1:13-16

“Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am being tempted by God,” for God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempts no one. But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death. Do not be deceived, my beloved brothers.”

James 1:13-16

After introducing his readers to the topics of joy, wisdom, steadfastness, and our eternal reward, James turns to warning them about what stands in the way—trials and temptations, which are not exactly the same thing. Trials form us like gold refined in a fire. God often uses trials to mold and shape us to better image him to the world.

But James is clear that temptations are not from God. While God is sovereign over us and everything we face, the intent of temptation is to draw us away from God. God sent his Son, Jesus, to die for us so that we could be reconciled to him (2 Corinthians 5:18). Why would he then try to lure and entice us away from himself? He wouldn’t, and he doesn’t.

When we think about temptation, we have to remember two simple points. They seem obvious, especially if we’re not currently facing temptation. But when we’re in the middle of fighting our earthly desires and the siren song of anything that goes against God, these points are easy to forget.

First, temptations are attractive. Otherwise, they wouldn’t be tempting. What’s tempting to me might not be tempting to you, and the evil one is crafty enough to know how to attack. We also need to be careful, because sometimes temptations look the most attractive when we are facing trials. When life is hard, we can be tempted to let bitterness, resentment, and anger build. When someone speaks poorly about us, we can be tempted to gossip. When we’re exhausted by the demands of our kids, we can be tempted to lash out at them in anger (I have some experience with that one). Satan knows how to kick us when we’re down, and we need to “be watchful.” Because the devil is out to destroy us (1 Peter 5:8-9).

That brings us to our second point. Giving into temptation always leads to destruction. God does not lead us to destruction, but our own heart and our willingness to follow the world can. James says that temptation lures and entices us—which is pretty graphic if you think about it. Picture a fish being lured to a hook, but then that hook drags that fish toward its own destruction. The bait on that hook is never worth what follows.

Our culture often preaches that we should “follow our heart.” But the problem is that sometimes our heart tells us that the bait on the hook will make us happy. We can be told to chase what looks or feels good, and so we take the bait and suffer the consequences. Maybe we don’t have to deal with the consequences immediately, but the bait of temptation that drags us away will never be as good as what God has for us—even if we have to wait for that reward. As Proverbs 14:12 warns, “There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death.” The prophet Jeremiah recognized that same truth as he asked God to lead and correct him. He said, “I know, O LORD, that the way of man is not in himself, that it is not in man who walks to direct his steps” (Jeremiah 10:23).

In other words, the message to “follow your heart” is, excuse my language, a load of crap. I debated saying it like that, because that doesn’t sound so “spiritual,” but maybe it gets the point across to our hard hearts (mine included). You can insert a different, stronger word for “crap,” if you’d like. But we cannot follow our hearts unless we’ve taken the time to decipher if our hearts are leading us toward destruction or toward life. Have we submitted our hearts to God? Have we asked for wisdom and discernment in our choices? Have we let the Spirit change our hearts? When our hearts are transformed and changed to be like Christ, well then yes, we can follow our hearts, because in doing so we are following God. But on our own, we need to be very, very wary of where the desires of our hearts lead us.

“We need to be very, very wary of where the desires of our hearts lead us.”

N.T. Wright said, “None of us starts off with a pure internal ‘kit’ of impulses, hopes and fears. If you are true to ‘yourself,’ you will end up a complete mess. The challenge is to take the ‘self’ you find within, and choose wisely which impulses and desires to follow, and which ones to resist.”[1]

We need wisdom, which James talked about earlier and will bring up again later in his letter. Without wisdom, it’s all too easy to fall for Satan’s deceit, listening to him say like he did to Eve, “Did God actually say (fill in the blank)?” But we have to choose which voice to listen to. Are we going to believe what God says and trust who he is, or will we fall for the lies whispered in our ear?

As James reminds us in verse 16, “Do not be deceived.”

God’s Gifts Are Good: James 1:17-18

“Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change. Of his own will he brought us forth by the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.”

James 1:17-18

The beauty of the Christian life is that it’s not just about avoiding temptation. It’s not about following certain rules, as if God is a stingy taskmaster. Instead, where the evil one entices and drags us away, all that is good flows from our good God. He will never entice us with something that will destroy. He will never whisper lies in our ear. “God’s gifts are good, not evil. Whereas temptation—and evil force that leads to sin and death—has its source in human lust, good gifts have God as their source.” [2]

Even when we suffer through trials, and even when we don’t understand why God works the way he does, we can trust his character. The Creator God doesn’t shift like the shadows, but he is always good. He has called us to live a life that demonstrates his goodness to the world. He has brought us from death to life—and we get to live like it.

In verse 18, James is telling us that our transformed lives are the start of the work God will one day do as he remakes all creation. God has “brought us forth” through the gospel to be a picture of what God will do for the entire cosmos. This is the complete opposite of where temptation leads us. The phrase, “brought us forth,” reminds us of the image of birth. Temptation leads to death, but God has given us new life. As Jesus told Nicodemus in John 3, we must be “born again.” Peter put it this way in his letter, “According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfailing, kept in heaven for you” (1 Peter 1:3-4).

Day by day, minute by minute, we have to choose to step forward toward God, drawing near to him and trusting that he is who he says he is. We can’t listen to the lies of our own heart, the world, or the devil. When we’re faced with all kinds of hardship, and even when the evil one tries to lure us away, we have to choose to trust the God of the universe. He is good. He is faithful. Even when life is hard, the life to come will make it all worth it.

We Must Go Forward

In John Bunyan’s book, The Pilgrim’s Progress, Christian travels from the City of Destruction to Zion, the Celestial City. The story is an allegory for the Christian life, and it gives a picture of a long, arduous journey—but one with a great reward. Christian regularly faces hardship, temptation, a fight with the evil one, and plenty of other difficulties along the way. But he remains steadfast, and this scene as he comes on The Hill of Difficulty illustrates that so beautifully (bear with me with the antiquated language):

Now, when he was got up to the top of the hill, there came two men running to meet him amain; the name of the one was Timorous, and of the other Mistrust; to whom Christian said, “Sirs, what’s the matter? You run the wrong way. Timorous answered, that they were going to the City of Zion, and had got up that difficult place; but, said he, the further we go, the more danger we meet with; wherefore we turned, and are going back again.

Yes, said Mistrust, for just before us lie a couple of lions in the way, whether sleeping or waking we know not, and we could not think, if we came within reach, but they would presently pull us to pieces.

Christian: Then said Christian, You make me afraid, but whither shall I fly to be safe? If I go back to mine own country, that is prepared for fire and brimstone, and I shall certainly perish there. If I can get to the Celestial City, I am sure to be in safety there. I must venture. To go back is nothing but death; to go forward is fear of death, and life everlasting beyond it. I will yet go forward.[3]

To go back is death. To go forward is life. It sounds simple, but that’s what is required of us to remain steadfast and endure until we are at last living with God in the new creation. We cannot walk towards God and away from him at the same time; we have to choose. For followers of Jesus, it makes no sense at all to choose the life behind us. We can’t hold onto the sin and temptation of our old life while we walk into the new life. We’re a new creation, and our lives are just the beginning of what God will do for all of his creation.

“To go back is nothing but death; to go forward is fear of death, and life everlasting beyond it. I will yet go forward.”

— Christian in John Bunyan's "The Pilgrim's Progress"

Just like Christian couldn’t give into the temptation to turn back and still end up in the Celestial City, we cannot choose both God and a life that leads us away from him. That is no life at all.

Whatever trials and temptations we face, let’s cling to the hope we have. All goodness flows from our God, and walking away from him will never give us what we truly need. We must run from temptation and toward our good God.

Like Christian resolved to do, we must yet go forward.

Reflect

What trials are you facing right now? Are there any temptations you’re especially susceptible to? Satan wants to kick us while we’re down. How can you remain steadfast in trials and resist the temptations you face?
Discerning whether our hearts are leading us toward or away from God isn’t always easy. It requires wisdom and guidance from the Holy Spirit. Take a few minutes and pray for that wisdom. Pray that the Spirit would shape your decision-making and form your desires to be Christ-like.
What does stepping forward in your life look like today? What’s the next step you need to take to live a steadfast life and trust our faithful God?

[1] Wright, N. T. The Early Christian Letters for Everyone. Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 2011, p 8.
[2] Longman, Tremper, David E. Garland, et al. Hebrews—Revelation. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2006, p 223.
[3] Bunyan, John. The Pilgrim’s Progress. Minneapolis, MN: Desiring God, 2014, p 46-47.

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