Skip to main content

Guard Your Heart

           Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it. (Proverbs 4:23)

          The heart represents the will in ancient literature. It is not the only part of us that makes decisions or acts, but it is the subject today. Two ideas come to mind. The first is that we need to guard our hearts from the other parts of ourselves. The heart, mind, soul, body, spirit, and relationships should work together, but how often does what we want over-rule any choice that our will might make. How often does social or peer pressure dictate to us? Our biases sometimes get in the way of what we think we should do, and would do if it weren’t for them.

          At the same time, while we may wish to say that we didn’t make the choice we made, we did. We are still responsible. Our hearts are likely to have given in with far too little a fight for control. Thirdly, we need to protect our hearts from pride. One of the worst lies we can tell ourselves is “I can handle it.”

          Ultimately, our hearts are broken, not in the sense that someone hurt our feelings, but in the sense that sin breaks everything it touches. We must guard our heart against further damage by sin, and from further damage that might take place if we aren’t mindful of the damage that’s already there. Imagine breaking an ankle, and four weeks into its healing, trying to run a marathon. Need I say, “Foolish!” But that’s what we sometimes do with our hearts. 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The List

              Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,   through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we boast in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance;   perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us. (Romans 5:1-5)           Think about it. We have been justified. At least, we could be justified if we stopped insisting that our justification be based on our merits. We have peace with God, or could have peace if we stopped throwing temper tantrums. We have gained access into grace i...
Post a Comment
Read more

Listen!

  While he was still speaking, a bright cloud enveloped them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. Listen to him!” (Matthew 17:5)            Do you like roller coasters? I don't. You spend forever climbing a hill. You get to the top and have half a second, then you race down to a low point. Sometimes the racing down involves tying your insides into knots. At the bottom, you either have to be dragged up another hill or you get off the ride. Peter's life was a roller coaster from the time he met Jesus. There would be miracles, and then Jesus would teach things that didn't always make sense, and then they'd go out and perform miracles, and return to be taught. Peter was praised for giving the right answer to "Who do you say that I am?" Jesus said that said answer came from God. Peter was at the top of the hill.            ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Prayer Lists

                 Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, now that you have tasted that the Lord is good. (I Peter 2:2-3)   In connection with what I wrote yesterday about the possibility that I’m wrong, I’m feeling the need to go back to basics - craving spiritual milk because somehow, I missed something. It’s a little embarrassing, craving milk like a newborn, but the truth probably is that we are newborns many times in many ways in our lives. From God’s perspective, we may never be anything more than newborns, forever needing that milk. On the other hand, being a newborn can also be exciting because so much is new. My mind is playing pinball - ricocheting from one idea to the next and through six more before it happens to hit the third again. The main topic is prayer. I have at least seven organizing structures all somewhat influenced by the movie War Room , which I’v...
Post a Comment
Read more