Guard Your Heart
By John Hendrix
Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life. (Proverbs 4:23, NIV)
Waters will sometimes gather under the surface of a hill or mountain and spring forth from its side in a bubbling brook. The water is good or bad depending on the earth and rock through which it passes. Usually it is wholesome and men love to drink near the source of a mountain stream. Sometimes, however, it is not. The mountain holds some sulfur or other bitter material and the water is foul.
In just this way the heart of man may take in all of the goodness of God’s blessings and still put forth nothing but evil:
But those things which proceed out of the mouth come from the heart, and they defile a man. For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies. These are the things which defile a man, but to eat with unwashed hands does not defile a man. (Matthew 15:18-20)
Guard your heart! All of the good things you hear, and all of the good things you may do, will be fouled by any bitterness and corruption within you.
A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart brings forth evil. For out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks. (Luke 6:45)
Truly the heart is the source of the good or evil in a man. True obedience springs from the heart (Romans 6:17), and evil has no hold on a man except he take it inside himself:
But the seed on good soil stands for those with a noble and good heart, who hear the word, retain it, and by persevering produce a crop. (Luke 8:15, NIV)
But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death. (James 1:14-15)
So, the one who desires to avoid sin and do right must carefully watch his heart. An honest heart will be open to hear and learn the truth; a heart that is otherwise cannot be taught:
These were more fair-minded than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness, and searched the Scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so. (Acts 17:11)
Once prepared to obey God, the good heart must be maintained; the guard never let down. A man who violates his conscience, sears his heart and—though forgiveness is requested and granted—risks destroying his whole faith:
. . . holding on to faith and a good conscience. Some have rejected these and so have shipwrecked their faith. (1 Timothy 1:19, NIV)
Our hearts—when properly conditioned with God’s word—guides us away from the evil and towards the good (Hebrews 5:14). Disaster strikes when we repeatedly ignore its warnings.
The good heart is maintained through contemplation of good things:
Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever
things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are
pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good
report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy--meditate
on these things. (Philippians 4:8)
A Christian guards his heart by keeping it focused on the ultimate goal of pleasing God: an eternal home in heaven. A man who thinks and dreams of markets and money will mostly hope for wealth. He may gain it for a while. Those who most desire houses and cars will fill their minds with the ways and means to obtain them. They may possess them for a time. The people who continually long for their eternal home will think of little else than prayer, hymns and Bible study. Heaven can never be taken away!
Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. (Matthew 6:19-21)
Everything precious must be closely watched. Our salvation depends upon our hearts. There is nothing more precious than this. Guard your heart well!