“I gave them this command: Obey me, and I will be your God and you will be my people. Walk in all the ways I command you, that it may go well with you. But they did not listen or pay attention; instead, they followed the stubborn inclinations of their evil hearts. They went backward and not forward” (Jeremiah 7:23-24, NIV).

As demonstrated by the recent misadventure of a wayward Australian driver—who would certainly have set some kind of world record if he had completed his journey—going backward is usually considered a negative experience.          

I consider it okay to go backward when I back my car out of the garage in the morning, but I wouldn’t want to back all the way to work. Nor would I want my bank balance, my marriage, or my health to be going backward. Forward is almost always better than backward.         

But I think most people disagree with Jeremiah. Many of us believe that following the inclinations of our hearts is going forward. We look around, we consider our options, we decide what we want to do, and then we do it. We move ahead. We go forward. How can that be backward?

Consider some lyrics to a recent song:

When darkness surrounds you
And you lose your way,
You have your own compass
That turns night to day.
And it's even with you
Before you depart.
Be still, hear it beating;
It's leading you.
Follow your heart.

So is the song wrong? Is following your heart evil?         

Well, it depends. There are plenty of people who make many good life decisions. We are not at the point that had been reached by the antediluvian world. At that time, according to Scripture, “God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually” (Genesis 6:5, KJV).          

On the other hand, who can deny that the inclinations of human hearts are often pretty bad? Have a look at the current state of US politics; check out the number of business executives currently under indictment, if not already in prison; consider the present state of international diplomacy; examine the latest releases from Hollywood, or the newest TV sitcoms; observe the state of your next door neighbor’s marriage, or your own inner thoughts.         

Jeremiah talks about “commands.” But the whole idea of following commands runs contrary to our contemporary way of life. “Obedience” is for children. We don’t think well of bosses who spray commands around the office like buckshot. We want sensitive, affirming superiors who take into consideration our unique learning styles and encourage flexible schedules. We want bosses to nurture our self-esteem. We bristle when our individuality is challenged.         

That may be okay for the office, but let’s be clear; the optimistic view that we can live well on our own without any outside guidance is simply wrong. As hard as we may try, human beings are not up to the task of living on our own apart from God.         

I ran away from home once. I was 4. It was no great catastrophe because I was back home in tears in about 10 minutes. It is catastrophic, however, when human beings run away from God.

Dutch theologian G.C. Berkouwer began his book titled Sin this way: “No real genius is needed to see life’s battered and mangled pieces before us, and no particular wisdom is required to appreciate how profoundly abnormal life can be” (G.C. Berkouwer, Sin, page  11).          

Battered, mangled, abnormal. Sound familiar? It’s a pretty good description of how life goes when humans try to live apart from God. It turns out we need someone to obey. We need a compassionate Father to issue a few commands so that, as Jeremiah wrote, “it may go well” with us.   

Incidentally, Jeremiah was not against following one's heart; what he denounced was "following the stubborn inclinations of their evil hearts." In Jeremiah 31:33, the prophet quotes God offering the solution to our evil hearts: "I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people."

Now about the Australian guy: He was stopped on October 6 for driving 35 mph (56km/h) in reverse along a highway near the outback gold mining town of Kalgoorlie. The transmission in his 1988 Ford had failed, rendering all the forward gears useless. Rather than take the time to get the transmission repaired or replaced, the guy just decided he would drive to the city of Perth in reverse. Perth was 340 miles (550km) away. He was stopped about 12 miles from his starting point, given a breathalyzer test (it came out negative), and arrested on a charge of reckless driving.         

It strikes me that the driver’s misadventure is quite a lot like human attempts to live apart from God. Jeremiah would probably look at the planet today and say, “They went backward and not forward.”         

B.W.