The Guardian

If you just won a million dollars, you wouldn’t put it in the back seat of your car and drive on the highway with the windows rolled down.... would you?! Of course not; that would be careless. But why is it that we are just as careless with our hearts?? It’s a question that I have been asking myself a lot lately. I have seen people open themselves up to things that in the end only does their heart harm and weakens their relationship with Jesus Christ.

The word [[heart]] is mentioned 743 times in the bible, so it’s pretty obvious that our hearts are a very vital part of us. We need our natural hearts strong because it needs to maintain the flow of blood through the entire circulatory system, AND we need to make sure that our spiritual hearts are strong as well.

Why??

Well... it says in the Bible, “Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.” [[Proverbs 4:23]] The Message Bible makes it even more clear, it reads: “Keep vigilant watch over your heart; that’s where life starts.” These scriptures reinforce how the heart is such a delicate thing and how easily it can get damaged. There is no way we can come against the circumstances of life unless Jesus lives in our hearts and we truly understand that what we feed our hearts is how we will turn out to be.

The phrase “guard your heart” has been something I have grown up hearing. My local church instilled the values in me that makes me WANT to guard my heart. But I think the phrase often gets misunderstood. When someone says “guard your heart,” I know people’s minds go straight to the idea of a romantic relationship, BUT guarding your heart is not limited just to that idea. What friends you surround yourself with, what you spend your time doing, what music you listen to, what types of jokes you tell, etc. are all outlets that can end up destroying your heart. These things might not seem like a big deal at first. “.....So what if I go to that party, listen to that song, start that relationship, not read the Bible, not be open to God’s plan for my life, etc.” Eventually the good things in your heart that were instilled by Christ will no longer be there because you didn‘t guard it. We erased it all because we fed on all the wrong types of things.

C.S. Lewis says it best: “To love at all is to be vulnerable. Love anything, and your heart will certainly be wrung and possibly broken. If you want to make sure of keeping it intact, you must give your heart to no one, not even to an animal. Wrap it carefully round with hobbies and little luxuries; avoid all entanglements; lock it up safe in the casket or coffin of your selfishness. But in that casket- safe, dark, motionless, airless--it will change. It will not be broken; it will become unbreakable, impenetrable, irredeemable.”

There is no way that one can help further the Kingdom of God if he or she opens their heart up to anything and everything that comes their way. Eventually you have to make a stand. What enters your hearts will either help you grow your relationship with Christ...or not. The value of a pure heart and mind in today’s society is overlooked.

[[your heart----> no.one.else.can.guard.it.for.you.