Heartless: The Hunt For A Pure Heart!

What kind of villain name is Heartless? Seriously, though; it doesn't really have an impact like Magneto, Two-Face, or Reverse Flash.... Heartless is one of Nightwing's villains that really earns his name because of what he does to his victims. This baddie has a special gun that shoots a claw tube that latches on to the victim and literally cuts out their heart. If you think that is pretty messed up, he doesn't just throw it away, no, this creep takes the heart to replace his heart with theirs.... Maybe they should have called this guy the Tin-Man (sorry for the bad joke). Heartless really does work out to be the right kind of villain for Nightwing because of the very thing that he is after in his victims, their heart. Nightwing is known in comics for having a good heart that is compassionate toward the people he protects and even the villains he encounters.  Batman himself sees this and notes that for this very reason, Nightwing would have been the perfect Batman, because his heart has not been destroyed like Batman's in the fight for justice. DC has gone as far as making Nightwing the leader of the New Justice League (Titans on a universal scale) and the example/epitome of what heroes are supposed to be.

Scripturally, the heart can be a source of good or evil depending on the situation.  In Jeremiah 17:9 we find that "The human heart is the most deceitful of all things, and desperately wicked. Who really knows how bad it is?" Following this verse it says that God is the one who is able to look at the heart and examine its secretive motives. So what are we supposed to do with our evil hearts? Ezekiel has a response to this heart problem "...I [God] will give you a new heart, and I will put a new spirit in you. I will take out your stony heart and give you a tender, responsive heart. And I will put my Spirit in you so that you will follow my decrees and be careful to obey my regulations." (36:26-27). David who was known as a man after God's own heart saw the brokenness that was in him after sleeping with Bathsheba, getting her pregnant, and killing Uriah (her husband) to cover it up. Psalm 51 is his song of regret and repentance to God. David asks for a clean heart and to renew a loyal spirit in him (vs10) while also realizing that God was not looking for a sacrifice to make things right, but a broken spirit or a repentant heart (vs17). God wants our heart, but not like Heartless wants hearts, God wants our hearts to be willing to hear Him and follow His guidance. We work with God in this by hiding his word in our hearts, which helps us stay close to God and away from sinning (Psalm 119:11).

How did you feel when you saw that your heart is deceitful or wicked? Maybe you felt uncomfortable or shocked as you may have been taught to trust your heart. Does your heart look more pliable to God's guidance and word? Are you taking your heart and asking God to bring up the areas that need work on? Do you have a goal to have a heart that is like Nightwing/David's that is moved and centered in the right things? 

Comments

  1. Caleb BoonstraFebruary 18, 2024 at 1:08 PM

    That Jeremiah verse is probably one of the verses that most impact my daily life. Whenever I feel a certain way, or want to “follow my heart” for something, it flashes in my head and reminds me “oh yea, my hearts an idiot, how bout we leave this to God” lol.

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