the heart

Sometimes, we fanfare over what a politician promises to deliver without ever asking what he will take away from us.

This reminds me of Francois Duvalier who, in his campaign days, promised to deliver the population from discrimination by those of lighter skin tone, and oppression from the wealthy, and even oppression from the international community. But what he took away were civil rights, civil liberties. He made no mention of such plan during his campaign.

So as Jeremiah once said in the Spirit of the Lord:

“Cursed is the one who trusts in man, who draws strength from mere flesh and whose heart turns away from the Lord. That person will be like a bush in the wastelands; they will not see prosperity when it comes. They will dwell in the parched places of the desert, in a salt land where no one lives.” (Jeremiah 17:5-6)

But here’s the good news:

“But blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in him. They will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit.” (Jeremiah 17:7-8)

Because the truth is that:

The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it? “I the Lord search the heart and examine the mind, to reward each person according to their conduct, according to what their deeds deserve.” (Jeremiah 17:9-10)