Should I Follow My Heart?

Much is made today of the dictum, “follow your heart.” Usually, it is a popular appeal to the relativistic sentimentalism that has replaced traditional rational morality. But there’s an odd twist on this imperative that can infect Christian ethics, for it is sometimes thought that one’s inner life—one’s emotions and desires—must be put in order prior to any expectation that one’s outer life—one’s behavior—can be properly arranged. Of course, Jesus urges us toward the cleansing of the inside of the cup, toward liturgical prayer that is thought about, toward confession of sin and purity within the heart. All very true. But all very much beside the point. For the question is this: how is one to develop such inner purity? Which comes first, the chicken or the egg?