The Heart is Deceitful

On a beautiful Sunday morning there were signs. There were negotiations, there were warnings, there were plans, there was a grand scheme. There was deception.

There was a belief things could be managed, that our country would be safe.

There was also one missing component in the policy making of our country on that Sunday morning, December 7,1941.

Like today, there was a refusal to believe what the Bible said about the human heart:

“The human heart is the most deceitful of all things,
and desperately wicked.
Who really knows how bad it is?” —Jeremiah 17:9

I have no way of knowing what this December 7th will bring. But I do know that the reality of the deceptiveness of the human heart must not be missed. Whether the arena is national security or a personal relationship, the depths of wickedness of the heart can never be fully known. Whether the issue is terrorism or believing that you can trust someone, other than Christ, the truth is the same: you cannot trust the heart.

Thousands died at Pearl Harbor that Sunday. Hundreds of thousands more would die in the days that followed. But the deception of the heart can also be devastating on a personal level. The trust of a young man or woman can be shattered in pieces. The damage done by a deceptive can last a life time.

Tell your children the truth about the human heart. Tell them Jesus alone can bind the wounds of the heart. Perhaps your child will grow up to be a leader, one who knows the dangers of the heart and will serve to protect his country. Or maybe your child will live a quiet life. One thing that is for certain is that your child will encounter the deceptiveness of people who want you him to believe the lies of the heart.

Warn your children, warn yourself. Only Christ is trustworthy. Only he can provide spiritual eyes that can see the danger. Only Christ can rescue you and your children from the cynicism that comes from trusting wicked hearts.

What the Scripture says is true:

Jesus Christ is the way, the truth, the life.

If this is what you believe, then what happens on December 7th, or any other day can be faced with the peace that passes all understanding. Jesus can transform our heart of darkness into the blessing of his light.

 

Shepherd Press