Over the past couple of years we've given a lot of attention to how we guard against Covid. As parents, we are very intentional about guarding our children's safety. Buckle up. Wear a helmet. Don't talk to strangers. Over the past decade or more there seems to be an increasing concern about guarding our health. Eat better. Exercise more. Quit smoking. All good choices.
This week I've been reading in Proverbs during my devotional time. In Proverbs 4:23 King Solomon wrote “Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.”
When I read that, I began to think about all the things we guard. We guard our health, we protect our children, we watch over our investments. We even install home security systems to guard our possessions, our home and our family. But it got me thinking about this? Do we guard our hearts? Solomon, a man renowned for his wisdom, said “above all else guard your heart.”
What does that even mean? What does it look like to guard our hearts? Ultimately it is about being careful about what we take in. Our hearts become filled with those things we see, hear and dwell upon. Because, as Solomon says, “everything you do flows from it.” What we take into our hearts affects our attitudes, our words and our behaviors.
Thank you to all who accepted the invitation to pray for and serve our young people
Our hearts are often under attack on several fronts. But I think there are three areas in particular where we must guard our hearts. The first is temptation and sin. All sin begins in the heart. In fact Jesus would go so far as to say that if we have lusted in our hearts then it's as if we have committed adultery. If we've been angry in our hearts it is as if we've harmed another. So we must guard our hearts by being careful about what we watch, read and listen to, that it not lead us towards sin.
The second area we must guard our heart is negativity. We seem to be living in a culture of polarization, anger, offense and indignation. We need to guard our hearts from all of this. The more we allow ourselves to be exposed to this negativity, the more we dwell upon it, the more it becomes a part of us. We are followers of Christ. People of love, mercy and forgiveness. But if we don't guard our hearts, we too will soon be negative, angry and divisive.
The third area we need to guard our heart is fear. Over and over and over again in scripture we are told “fear not.” Yet we are living in a time when fear “sells.” And so we are inundated with a deluge of fearful news and fear-based marketing. And if we do not guard our hearts we will soon be just as fearful as those who do not have the hope of Christ.
To guard our hearts takes intentionality. We have to think about and notice what we are allowing in. And we have to be intentional in our choices of what we will watch, read, listen to and talk about. I believe Solomon was right. We must guard our heart, because all we do flows from it.
I look forward to us being together this weekend in-person or online. We will be launching a new series entitled “The Book of Hope” in which we will study through Paul’s letter to the Ephesians. You won’t want to miss a single week!
Love you all,
Pastor Steve