Taking that to Heart

The reason that true change is such a difficult thing is because our hearts are a mystery to us. The verse used as a point of depature for this message is Proverbs 20:5. Reading from the New American Standard it says, "A plan in the heart of a man is like deep water, But a man of understanding draws it out." The King James and other translations, such as the ESV say 'the purposes of a man's heart are deep waters but a man of understanding draws it out.' Here there is a metaphor and a simile. The word "like" is added when trying to compare. A metaphor is when two things that are dissimilar are put side-by-side to highlight a similarity. Though they're really dissimilar, there's something that unites them that communicates the truth in a wonderful way and God is so gracious to use metaphors all over the Word like this. So what's he putting side-by-side? He's saying the purposes, the intentions, the thoughts, the ways of a man's heart on one side, and then he puts deep waters beside that.