This series on the waywardness of the human heart was inspired by the message delivered by my former homiletics instructor last April 5. So far, I have already published three articles:

• @rzc24-nftbbg/curing-the-wayward-heart-finding-healing-in-the-fountain-of-living-water" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Curing the Wayward Heart: Finding Healing in the Fountain of Living Water

• @rzc24-nftbbg/prone-to-wander-when-waywardness-becomes-second-nature" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Prone to Wander: When Waywardness Becomes Second Nature

• @rzc24-nftbbg/the-wayward-heart-the-fire-that-burns-forever" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">The Wayward Heart: The Fire that Burns Forever

So far, the idea is to present a biblical view of a wayward heart. In the last two articles, I argued that a wayward heart tends to harden and kindles God’s anger. In this post, I would like to add the argument that a wayward heart ends in spiritual barrenness:

5 This is what the Lord says: “Cursed is the one who trusts in man, who draws strength from mere flesh, and whose heart turns away from the Lord. 6 That person will be like a bush in the wastelands; they will not see prosperity when it comes. They will dwell in the parched places of the desert, in a salt land where no one lives. 7 “But blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in him. 8 They will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit.”

The Cursed Life

In the above prophetic message, we read a clear contrast between a cursed man and a blessed man. The central issue is not morality, but trust. We see here that a wayward heart redirects its trust from God to something or someone else. This could be trusting your personal ability, any human relationship, human systems, and even a religious performance. In short, man has become the new source of strength.

What is wrong with trusting a mere man? For us, it looks normal and harmless. However, in the eyes of the prophet Jeremiah, such replacement of trust is a matter of life and death. He describes the man who trusts in his fellow man like “a bush in the wastelands,” a shrub in the desert that is dry, isolated, unproductive, and barely surviving. There may still be life—but it is a struggling life, a fragile and joyless one.

The Blessed Life

In contrast, the one who trusts in the Lord is compared to “a tree planted by the water.” Its roots are deep. Its leaves remain green. It does not fear when heat comes.

Notice that drought still comes, and yet, this does not prevent the tree from remaining productive. This is because the source of life is someone supernatural—God.

The difference between a wayward heart and a rooted heart is that the former depends on unstable sources, while the latter is anchored in God.

Application

If we are just honest to ourselves and ask these questions, “Where do I run when pressure comes?" What do I rely on when life becomes difficult? Our answer to this question reveals where our heart is planted. A plant disconnected from water may look alive for a while—but the heat of life reveals its true condition.

In the Web3 space, anyone is prone to shift his trust to algorithms, tokenomics, strategies, influencers, and even our trading abilities. If we are not cautious, we start thinking that if we just find the right strategy, our future is secured. If we just accumulate enough quantity of the right tokens, we will have peace.

If our trust is misplaced, it will eventually lead to spiritual dryness. We may still be active and earning, but inwardly, something is missing. Our happiness is tied to yield and ROI, and peace becomes dependent on price action.

There is nothing wrong with yield farming and trading tokens. However, if we are doing these online activities out of anxiety, that is a sure indication that God has been replaced with an idol in our hearts. Our trust has been misplaced because our roots are in the market and no longer in God.

What gives you emotional stability right now—God or your portfolio? If the market crashed tomorrow, would your heart remain peaceful and anchored in God?

Grace and peace!