​Guard Your Heart

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Many of you know that I enjoy weight training. In my younger years I primarily chased muscle gains. As I have gotten older, that mentality has slowly fallen by the wayside, and rightfully so. These days weight training is more about release and overall well-being. However, there is another muscle I need to concentrate on even more, the most important one in my body, my heart. Heart health should be a priority, not only physically but spiritually.

Solomon admonishes us, “Keep your heart with all diligence, For out of it spring the issues of life” (Prov. 4:23). The heart referred to here is the source of our thoughts, attitudes, beliefs, and actions. For that reason we must “keep” it, that is, guard it and watch over it carefully. Interestingly, the word translated “diligence” carries the idea of guarding something more carefully than anything else we guard. Why? Because “out of it spring the issues of life.” Solomon paints the picture of a spring or fountain from which water flows outward. In the same way, our words, actions, habits, and ultimately our character flow from the heart the way water flows from a spring. This means if the heart is neglected, inward moral corruption will inevitably follow.

Casting Crowns wrote a song titled “Slow Fade” that warns how seemingly small and harmless compromises slowly shape the heart and eventually lead to moral and spiritual decay:

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“Be careful little eyes what you see
It’s the second glance that ties your hands
As darkness pulls the strings...
It’s a slow fade when you give yourself away.
It’s a slow fade when black and white have turned to grey
And thoughts invade, choices are made,
A price will be paid
When you give yourself away.
People never crumble in a day.”

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Just as the health of the physical heart affects our physical well-being, the health of the inner heart determines our spiritual well-being. Be mindful of what you expose it to. Avoid things that dull its sensitivity. Recognize the influences that impact your heart. As Solomon so wisely says, guard it above all else.