This is the next part of my series of reviews about Andy Stanley’s new book The Principle Of The Path. If you haven’t read the previous parts of this series, check them out here:

Thomas Nelson Book Review Bloggers Review
Extended Review – Part 1

In these next few posts, I will take a closer look at a few of the chapters that spoke to me the most.

Chapter 5: The Heart of The Matter
This chapter pointed out to me that we (I) deceive ourselves. We are lead by our hearts. We trust our hearts.

But Jeremiah 17:9 tells us that…

“The heart is deceitful above all things? Who can understand it?”

Our hearts have the ability to deceive us. Our hearts have the ability to lead us astray. And yet we frequently say things like “Trust your heart.” “Follow your heart.”

If our hearts are deceitful by nature, then it’s no wonder we are so prone to deceive ourselves. We justify our actions, our poor decisions, our course changes that lead us away from our desired destination. And quite often, we do it without even knowing that we’re doing it.

Here’s what Andy Stanley has to say about it:

The truth is, your heart can’t always be trusted. The truth is, there are better decision-making strategies than simply following your heart. The truth is, if you let it, your heart will direct you down a path that leads to the very spot you most want to avoid. And now that you know the truth about your heart, you don’t have to be deceived!

Because now you know something you didn’t know before. Namely, your heart should not be your guide. It can’t be trusted.

In order to make it to the destination we most want to arrive at, we have to break that vicious cycle of self-deception. We have to learn not to trust the heart. We have to find a source of direction that is not lying to us.

As long as we hide behind the reasons that we give for our behavior (which aren’t the real reasons for our behavior, but rather our justification of our behavior), we will never have the strength and fortitude necessary to make a course correction to head in a new direction.

Because it’s impossible to get to where we want to be as long as we are lying to ourselves. Why?

You will never get to where you want to be if you don’t know where you are to begin with.

We have to come clean and honestly face ourselves. We need to examine where we really are, and where we want to be. And then we need to make the changes necessary for us to be on the right path, to lead us to that destination.

But we can’t do it alone.

More on that in a later post.

If you are interested in reading The Principle Of The Path, by Andy Stanley, you can purchase it at Amazon.com.

Disclosure of Material Connection:
Some of the links in the post above are “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will add value to my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”