Issue #409, October 15, 2025
Most leadership writing is action focused, which is natural since leaders value results. Yet, the Bible focuses more on matters of the heart, mentioning our heart more than 500 times, certainly an indication of how significant our heart is. While the biblical view of the heart encompasses the mind, will and emotions, in this series we will focus primarily on the element of emotions, our feelings, and how our heart impacts our leadership. The verses below help us understand the significance of the heart and why it is worth our careful attention.
“Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it” (Proverbs 4:23, NIV).
“The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?” (Jeremiah 17:9).
“Teach me your way, Lord, that I may rely on your faithfulness; give me an undivided heart, that I may fear your name” (Ps. 86:11).
These verses help us grasp the significance of our hearts.
Our heart is directive.
The writer of Proverbs says clearly that everything we do flows from our heart. Our heart determines our direction and influences our actions. Our heart directs what we say and do. Often, our actions are guided by emotions hidden deep in our heart. This is why when Samuel was choosing a king God told him “People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart” (1 Samuel 16:7b). God was looking much deeper than what showed on the outside; He looked into the heart.
Some leaders seek to change their behavior and do what is right without examining their hearts. But serving leaders seek to understand the feelings in their hearts that are shaping their behavior.
Our heart is difficult.
Jeremiah asks, “Who can understand the heart?” It is “deceitful” and therefore difficult to understand. We will not easily know what is happening in our hearts. Our emotions, motives, and intentions are often hidden even from our own awareness. It is not easy for leaders to acknowledge the difficulty of knowing their own heart. Followers expect action and results and leaders tend to focus on the externals rather than doing the hard work of examining their own heart. Even those who attempt to understand their hearts encounter the truth of Jeremiah and recognize that their own heart can deceive them.
Some leaders arrogantly assume that they know themselves quite well and don’t question their own hearts. But serving leaders embrace the challenge of understanding their own hearts.
Our heart is divided.
David, the leader known as “the man after God’s own heart”, cries out to God for an “undivided” heart! He is acknowledging the reality that despite our best intentions and our honest internal work, our hearts remain divided. We have mixed motives. There is a disconnect between what we think and what we feel and we are often unaware of the feelings that lie below our actions.
Some leaders ignore the warning signs of a divided heart. They plunge ahead with more good actions and seek to improve their behavior with no regard for the emotions in their hearts. But serving leaders recognize the reality of a divided heart and cry out to God for an undivided heart before acting.
For further reflection and discussion:
- In my own leadership how aware am I of how significant my heart/emotions are? In what way does my awareness, or lack of awareness, impact my leadership?
- What is a recent leadership action that I knew was not the best? What emotion was in my heart that led to that behavior? Was there a need that I had underneath that emotion? Did I seek to identify the feeling that led to the behavior or simply to change the behavior?
- How fully have I accepted the reality that my heart is deceitful? What impact does this have on how I lead?
- In what ways is my own heart divided? (Reflect on a recent leadership decision. What were my thoughts and what were my feelings? Was there alignment between my feelings and thoughts or were they divided? Did feelings or thoughts most shape my action?)
- In addition to the verses mentioned in this issue, read and reflect on the following verses about the heart: Proverbs 23:7, 27:19; Jeremiah 17:10; Matthew 15:18-19; and Luke 6:45. How do these verses deepen my understanding about the value of the heart?
Until next time, yours on the journey,
Jon Byler
In the next issue, we’ll look at how to gauge the condition of our heart.
Note: Some of the thoughts for this series were inspired by the book, The Wholehearted Leader, by Simon and Ceri Harris. The book focuses primarily on the emotions of the heart and their impact on leadership. While the biblical view of the heart is broader than emotions, it certainly includes emotions, which is often overlooked in leadership. The book offers great insight on how leaders can lead with healthy hearts.