Guard your heart!
Proverbs 4:23 is a serious warning about guarding your heart. To get a feel for how important Solomon believed this was, you must start at verse 20 and read all the way through 27.
The 'heart' is not referring to the organ in your chest pumping blood throughout your body...it's the subconscious mind.
Our being is made up of different parts, as referred to in the Bible:
1. the physical body - often referred to as our 'flesh'
2. the mind - our conscious thoughts
3. the heart - our subconscious thoughts
4. the spirit - the Holy Spirit within us
When God says to hide His words in our hearts - that means to dwell on them so much that they are tucked away in our subconscious mind, influencing everything we think, say or do. That's the part of us that is influenced by the music we listen to, the movies we watch, the things we say to ourselves...that 'self-talk' that we play over and over in our head.
How do we guard our hearts, the well-spring of life? vv. 24 - 27 offer clear directives:
The Message Bible makes it easy to understand:
"Don’t talk out of both sides of your mouth;
avoid careless banter, white lies, and gossip.
Keep your eyes straight ahead;
ignore all sideshow distractions.
Watch your step,
and the road will stretch out smooth before you.
Look neither right nor left;
leave evil in the dust."
What does that mean to you and me today? Simply put, "mind your own bees-wax." It's so easy these days to get caught up in everyone else's business. Even under the 'innocent guise' of prayer requests, many well-intentioned women fall into the gossip trap. I often hear the phrase, "I'd say it if she was sitting right here." Really? Then let's get her here to speak for herself.
"Keep your eyes straight ahead; ignore all sideshow distractions." To me, this is a tough one. I'm inclined to get distracted easily. "SQUIRREL!" :) But this is about bigger issues that take our focus off of Christ. Do you realize that in the lives of Christians, Satan doesn't have to kidnap us away and dump us in a heap of blatant sin...no, he just throws things in front of us that distract us from living the life God intends us to live.
If your God-given mission is to raise your children, Satan can distract us with something as harmless as a part-time job to save money for some big-ticket item that we think we need...and soon that turns into our god and everything we do revolves around that part-time job to get something we don't need, sacrificing precious time with our families, and missing opportunities to have Godly influence in the lives of our children. I'm not saying women shouldn't work...I'm saying, check your motives.
"Watch your step, and the road will stretch out smooth before you." When we keep our eyes straight ahead, being careful where we step, we avoid the pitfalls. Imagine hiking through a dense forest with rugged terrain and steep drop-offs on either side of the path. You tend to watch your step carefully when you are aware of the dangers. Similarly, in life, if you are too busy looking around you to see what everyone else is doing, you risk sliding down a slippery slope.
"Look neither right nor left; leave evil in the dust." I picture the Roadrunner and Wylie Coyote when I read these words. Roadrunner says, "Beep, beep!" and his legs spin so fast as he takes off that he leaves Coyote in a cloud of dust. That's how we need to be, when Satan tries to distract us.
What happens when we fail to guard our heart? We end up feeling jealousy, envy, lust, discontent, and a host of other emotions that are very un-Christ-like. The easiest thing to do is to take the advice of our dear friend, Barney Fife...and "Nip it in the bud!"
When you know that you will be in a situation where Satan will be on the offensive, take time to pray ahead of time, asking God to put a hedge of protection around your heart. He is faithful and will never leave you...and remember the promise in 1 Corinthians 10:13:
The 'heart' is not referring to the organ in your chest pumping blood throughout your body...it's the subconscious mind.
Our being is made up of different parts, as referred to in the Bible:
1. the physical body - often referred to as our 'flesh'
2. the mind - our conscious thoughts
3. the heart - our subconscious thoughts
4. the spirit - the Holy Spirit within us
When God says to hide His words in our hearts - that means to dwell on them so much that they are tucked away in our subconscious mind, influencing everything we think, say or do. That's the part of us that is influenced by the music we listen to, the movies we watch, the things we say to ourselves...that 'self-talk' that we play over and over in our head.
How do we guard our hearts, the well-spring of life? vv. 24 - 27 offer clear directives:
The Message Bible makes it easy to understand:
"Don’t talk out of both sides of your mouth;
avoid careless banter, white lies, and gossip.
Keep your eyes straight ahead;
ignore all sideshow distractions.
Watch your step,
and the road will stretch out smooth before you.
Look neither right nor left;
leave evil in the dust."
What does that mean to you and me today? Simply put, "mind your own bees-wax." It's so easy these days to get caught up in everyone else's business. Even under the 'innocent guise' of prayer requests, many well-intentioned women fall into the gossip trap. I often hear the phrase, "I'd say it if she was sitting right here." Really? Then let's get her here to speak for herself.
"Keep your eyes straight ahead; ignore all sideshow distractions." To me, this is a tough one. I'm inclined to get distracted easily. "SQUIRREL!" :) But this is about bigger issues that take our focus off of Christ. Do you realize that in the lives of Christians, Satan doesn't have to kidnap us away and dump us in a heap of blatant sin...no, he just throws things in front of us that distract us from living the life God intends us to live.
If your God-given mission is to raise your children, Satan can distract us with something as harmless as a part-time job to save money for some big-ticket item that we think we need...and soon that turns into our god and everything we do revolves around that part-time job to get something we don't need, sacrificing precious time with our families, and missing opportunities to have Godly influence in the lives of our children. I'm not saying women shouldn't work...I'm saying, check your motives.
"Watch your step, and the road will stretch out smooth before you." When we keep our eyes straight ahead, being careful where we step, we avoid the pitfalls. Imagine hiking through a dense forest with rugged terrain and steep drop-offs on either side of the path. You tend to watch your step carefully when you are aware of the dangers. Similarly, in life, if you are too busy looking around you to see what everyone else is doing, you risk sliding down a slippery slope.
"Look neither right nor left; leave evil in the dust." I picture the Roadrunner and Wylie Coyote when I read these words. Roadrunner says, "Beep, beep!" and his legs spin so fast as he takes off that he leaves Coyote in a cloud of dust. That's how we need to be, when Satan tries to distract us.
What happens when we fail to guard our heart? We end up feeling jealousy, envy, lust, discontent, and a host of other emotions that are very un-Christ-like. The easiest thing to do is to take the advice of our dear friend, Barney Fife...and "Nip it in the bud!"
When you know that you will be in a situation where Satan will be on the offensive, take time to pray ahead of time, asking God to put a hedge of protection around your heart. He is faithful and will never leave you...and remember the promise in 1 Corinthians 10:13:
"No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it."Be blessed.
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