Prov 4:23
23 Keep your heart with all diligence,
For out of it spring the issues of life.
NKJV

When we say protect your heart, most people in the world today would think of physical exercise to strengthen the heart.  Or possibly eating lots of greens that help keep the body pure and the heart pumping well and unhampered.  The New Living Translation says,

Guard your heart above all else,
for it determines the course of your life.

What is it about the heart?  Is the Word of God (the Bible) talking about the physical organ that pumps blood in your chest throughout your body?  Actually, the Bible is talking about the center of your being.  Your heart is you. We know we are a spirit, we have a soul, and we live in a body from 1 Thessalonians 5:23.  But the book of Proverbs, and the rest of the Bible talks about the heart all the time.  Why?  Because the heart is the center of our being; the center of us.. our implicit self.  If someone is ‘heart-sick’, they can end up physically sick and possibly even die.

The spiritual entrances to our heart are our eyes, ears, and senses.  That is why we really need to be so careful about what we see, hear, and read.  I remember seeing something scary on TV as a kid and it was as if those images were burned into me.  When the lights went out, I would fear that whatever I saw on the TV was actually real and happen to me. It took years for me to forget those horrible images.

Someone once said you are what you eat.  I would like to expand that.  You are what you think.  In Japan, we’ll often see people practicing their golf grip, swing, and follow through, all on the station platform as they are waiting for the train.  They are consumed by golf as that is what they think about.  They read golf magazines, talk about golf with their friends, watch gold programs, and rather than spending time with their family on the weekend that are out on the golf course.  Golf has consumed them.

Others take a look at something they shouldn’t be looking at.  Just one look and it is hard to erase that mental picture they have taken.  The imagination is a powerful tool that the Bible tells us to keep in control.  The Bible says in 2 Corinthians 10:5

2 Cor 10:5
5 We are destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ,
NASU

We must protect our heart if we want to have success in life.  We cannot allow ourselves to look at things or spend time doing things that take us away from the abundance that God has planned for us.  In the end, it all leads to death.  If you go after God, 100% you will have more than you can ever imagine, spiritually, physically, financially.  Everything comes together. 

God wants to know you, but you have to want to know Him as well.  If you allow your world to be crowded by the cares of this world, hobbies, sports, or things; you are missing the perfect plan God has for you.

Don’t be satisfied with what things are like now.  God has more for you, but the key is keeping your heart clear and free so that you can be led by the Holy Spirit.

Posted on 21 November, 2006