The answer is, of course you don’t! Yet, if you are like most people, you find yourself frequently saying something like, “I know better than that, why do I keep doing it?”
So why do you keep repeating the things that trouble you — it is the deceptiveness of sin. You were born with a spiritual heart that is defective, it does not operate as intended. If there is a problem with your physical heart, it tends to immediately demand whatever attention is necessary in order to solve the problem. However, the same level of concern and expense is seldom directed towards a malfunctioning spiritual heart.
In Jeremiah, the Holy Spirit speaks directly about your defective heart:
“The human heart is the most deceitful of all things,
and desperately wicked.
Who really knows how bad it is?”
The key descriptive term here is deceptive. The reason you keep falling for destructive solutions and into repeated messes is because your human hearts delights in doing the same failed things over and over again. You see your human heart not only doesn’t work well, it also is infected with malware, otherwise known as sin.
Sin is deceptive. Sin never presents itself for what it is. Anger appears to be a just response when you are wronged. A lie seems to be the easy way out of a difficult situation. This is the nature of sin. It always seems to be the right thing to do at the moment. No matter how long you live, sin will present itself in this way.
It is never a happy moment when you realize that you have been duped or misled. This is what sin does. It encourages you to take the wrong path and then mocks you when you do. This is the legacy that remains in your flesh, even after conversion.
Fortunately, God has the ultimate cure for this malfunctioning heart that leaves you tired and exhausted with the trials of life. Jesus says:
“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”
Stopped being duped. Trust Christ and his gentle word. Return good for evil. Be patient when you are annoyed. Stop keeping a record of all the times someone has hurt you. Express gratitude instead of frustration. Speak softly instead of using angry language. Pursue the fruit of God’s Spirit. Take up the yoke of Christ and watch it heal your broken heart.