"The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; who can know it? Jeremiah 17:9 (NKJV)
When was the last time you were shocked, dumbstruck, or sickened by what you saw on the nightly news? No need to rehash the heartbreaking headlines here, but suffice it to say that we live in a wicked world. And anyone who's been alive long enough to have a sense of perspective will tell you it's only getting worse.
Why is that? Aren't we, as a race of people, becoming more enlightened, more self-aware, more in tune with others? Shouldn't we be getting better? Why aren't we?
This elusive question is answered by a question, a question posed to us by God through the prophet Jeremiah. Our real problem is us. More specifically, it's our heart, which is divinely defined as "deceitful above all things and desperately wicked."
When you get right down to it, man's problem isn't lack of education, wealth, or anything else. It's the presence of his heart, which follows him wherever he goes and influences everything he does. And because it's a fallen heart, bent on sin, it constantly seduces man away from obeying the will of God.
It's such a sinful and seductive force that God asks a rhetorical question: "Who can know it?" The answer is no one! No natural-born man can fully comprehend or exercise complete control of his own heart. On the contrary, it will be his slave driver and task master his entire life. That's why we see so many heartbreaking headlines.
Our only hope is for outside intervention by the only One who is greater than our heart...God (1 John 3:20). When we surrender ourselves to His purposes, when we open up our heart to Him, He comes inside and takes charge over it. Little by little, He purifies our wicked hearts, until our lives finally come to reflect His.
Discuss the truth revealed through today’s heartbreaking headlines. What have you seen in the news this week that is further evidence of the fallen condition of man’s heart? How has it made you feel?
Dig into Jeremiah 17:5–10. What is the point of the comparison made here? What does verse 9 mean to you personally? How can you see the truth of this verse as you look at our society today?
Decide as a group to pray for your unsaved friends. Ask the Lord to lovingly lead them to conviction and repentance. Be ready to be used by God to bring them hope and the Good News of the gospel.
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