Follow Your Heart (But Not in the Way That You Think)

What if ignoring the heart to follow only intellect and blindly our hearts halts virtue and wisdom? What if we’re supposed to follow our hearts—but not in the way that the world understands it?

One of the most well-known pieces of advice of our time is “Follow your heart.” It’s the message of books, movies, and TV shows. It’s the answer teachers and counselors tell their students when their students aren’t sure what they want to do with their lives. When we’re confused, uncertain, the answer always comes down to, “Just follow your heart.”

As believers, many of us aren’t fond of this saying. We know the Bible says that the heart is wicked above all and can’t be trusted. The fall in Genesis tells us that putting faith in ourselves and our own reason can cause tremendous repercussions for more than just us. In light of this, we side-eye anyone who declares, “Simply follow your heart!” and roll our eyes at any t-shirt branded with those words. 

Instead, we turn to our intellect. We don’t want to be wrongly swayed by our emotions, so we shut off as much contact as possible with our hearts. As C. S. Lewis wrote, “They see the world around them swayed by emotional propaganda … and they conclude that the best thing they can do is to fortify [their] minds… against emotion.”

Yet what if both approaches lead to halting virtue and lack of wisdom? What if we’re supposed to follow our hearts—but not in the way that the world understands it?