Guard your heart with all vigilance,
New English Translation
for from it are the sources of life.
Remove perverse speech from your mouth;
keep devious talk far from your lips.
Let your eyes look directly in front of you
and let your gaze look straight before you.
Make the path for your feet level,
so that all your ways may be established.
Do not turn to the right or to the left;
turn yourself away from evil. Proverbs 4:23-27
Guard your heart. It’s the source of life both literally and metaphorically. When speaking medically about the heart, we strive for healthy hearts because we know that a healthy heart will bring a longer and fuller life. So, why don’t we strive for the same when speaking metaphorically about the heart?
A lot of times we use the term “heart” when referencing our inner being, our spirit, or the very nature of who we are. As the Proverb above said, “…from it are the sources of life.” It’s an essential part of who we are. However, the concept of “follow your heart” is not the right approach to finding a fulfilled life and guarded heart. Why is this? Well, for that answer we’ve got to look at Jeremiah 17:9-10.
The human mind is more deceitful than anything else.
New English Translation
It is incurably bad. Who can understand it?
I, the Lord, probe into people’s minds.
I examine people’s hearts.
I deal with each person according to how he has behaved.
I give them what they deserve based on what they have done. Jeremiah 17:9-10
Another translation reads:
The heart is deceitful above all things,
English Standard Version
and desperately sick;
who can understand it?
“I the Lord search the heart
and test the mind,
to give every man according to his ways,
according to the fruit of his deeds.” Jeremiah 17:9-10
Basically, we cannot “follow our hearts” because the very nature of our heart and mind is to lean towards evil and bad things. You cannot make decisions based on what gives you warm fuzzies or a sense of adventure or arises physical and emotional responses out of you. If you do, then you’re going to be going down a lot of roads in life that you never should have gone down.
This brings us to a very important question: Why do we guard our hearts? Two reasons, one of which is so that we do not allow it’s evil tendencies to be the driver of our lives. The other reason is so we don’t feed the evil tendencies of our heart.
You see, when you read books, watch movies, TV shows, or videos, listen to music, or involve yourself with anything that includes ungodly messages and behaviors, you’re feeding that naturally evil part of your heart. When you feed it, it becomes stronger. Once it becomes stronger, it’s very hard to overcome it.
You ever heard someone say, “I didn’t mean to go that far…it just happened, I couldn’t control myself…” Hog-wash. Nothing ever “just happens.” Monumental mistakes are not made in a moment. They take time. They’re a process. I’ve heard it explained this way:
You are on one side of a river and the “big” sin is on the other. So, little by little you build a bridge of “little” sins until you’ve managed to lay enough sin bricks to make it to the other side.
You don’t crash your life in an instant. It takes years of compromising and doing “little” things that you manage to convince yourself aren’t that bad. It’s a journey to wreck your life. Yet, in reality, the very first moment that you decide to feed the evil nature of the heart is when you wreck your life. We like to pretend that as long as bad choices are hidden from the outside world that we’re good. However, our actions, thoughts, and motives are never hidden from God.
Guard your heart. That’s a habit altering statement right there. What do you do that feeds into the evil nature? Do you lie on your time card at work? Skim money? Maybe you watch a show with distorted views of sexuality, marriage, or family. Possibly you read books filled with witch craft and spells. Or it could be that the music you listen to make sexual remarks or is filled with cursing. There are so many options of what could be feeding that evil nature. What are you willing to give up to get closer to God?
Facts are, to put new water in a full glass you have to pour out the old water. Works the same for you. To receive more of God and the good He has for you requires dumping out all the old junk hogging the space. I’ve given you a lot to think about, and I hope that you take this seriously. Take time and ask God what you need to let go of and be ready to let go. I’ve seen it happen far to often that someone hears God say to let go, they cry about it and pretend to let go and then cling harder to it within a few days. When He says let go, the only option is to let go, otherwise, you’re worse off than before you realized what you needed to let go of because you’re living in disobedience and defiance of God.
