“Billy Broke My Heart at Walgreens and I Cried All the Way to Sears”

There’s something about country western music that is so heartrending! Like Billy Ray Cyrus’ signature song “Achy Breaky Heart," or the less familiar “You Done Tore out My Heart and Stomped That Sucker Flat.” But it is not only the country western genre that evokes the ‘you broke my heart’ topic—losing control of one’s heart is a universal theme. (Who can forget Tony Bennet’s “I Left My Heart in San Francisco” or Elton’s John’s “Don’t Go Breaking My Heart.”)

When the Bible refers to the heart, however, you can be sure it is not referring to sappy emotions. Used interchangeably with the word “soul,” the heart means your thoughts and feelings, desires and affections, decisions and choices. So when God asks for your heart, he's asking for everything. When he controls your heart, He controls you: your hopes, dreams, thoughts, plans and priorities: all of it. And unlike the sad singers who lost their hearts to fickle lovers, you can be sure your heart is always safe with Him.