Today’s Reading, Proverbs 4-6
Focal Scripture: Proverbs 4:23 “Guard your heart above all else, for it is the source of life.”
When I played football I was an offensive lineman. When I coached football my position group was the offensive line. What I love about the position is the selflessness that one must posses to willingly hurt your body to guard the quarterback and the running backs. The offensive lineman’s job is to protect his backs by moving another person against their will. This requires a high level of skill and determination. It also requires patience and tenacity. The position is not intended to score points but to work harder than any other position in the field.
In today’s reading Solomon tells his son that he needs to guard his heart above all else because it is the source of life. That statement might seem a little over the top at first but if you really think about it, Solomon is not only correct, he is exposing what gets all of us in trouble in our lives. Which is a heart that has been compromised and not guarded.
Every sin that a person commits comes from their heart. You might have an idea or plan to sin. You might even think about a particular sin and start blaming your mind for the temptation and the process. However, your mind is not the problem it is your heart. The Bible tells us that the heart is deceitfully wicked above all things and who can really know it besides the Lord. The heart answer is none of us, that even includes ourselves.
The problem we face when it comes to our sin is that we guard our minds but we do not guard our hearts. When we are tempted to sin our mind is not the first battlefield, it is actually the heart. Our hearts are what our desires come from in our lives. For example, if i am struggling with wanting what someone else has, that desire came from deep within my heart. My mind just allowed me to put feet to what I wanted.
In other words our minds our the tires but our hearts our the engine. Our hearts are what gives birth to sin and evil. The only way to protect our hearts is to submit all we have to the Lord. This means our thinking and our actions. It also means what we consume must be good and holy. Everything around us must have one goal for our lives, holiness.
We will continue to struggle with sin until our hearts are fixed and that only happens when Christ is our priority. Are you willing to guard your heart? Or will you compromise the source of life? The answer to that question will determine your next steps.
Tomorrow, I plan on reading 7-9
