Whenever I am told to "guard my heart", I instantly imagine my heart being a fair innocent princess in a tower, with myself needing to be a valiant knight to keep all of the evil things in this world away from her. But as I have been reading some different books on Christian living lately, that pleasant mental picture has been, uh, distorted. In the Bible, it says to "Keep thy heart with all diligence, for out of it are the issues of life." -Proverbs 4:23
God laments through a prophet that "The heart is deceitful above all things and desperately sick; who can understand it?" -Jeremiah 17:9
And in Genesis, it says that, "...the intention of man's heart is evil from his youth..." -8:21
Okay. So now instead of a beautiful maiden representing my heart, I have a vile, evil, trouble-causing criminal. It looks like I need to be more of a jailer that will keep all of the wickedness in that criminal from entering the world! And here is a sad fact: have you ever noticed that the phrase "follow your heart" is everywhere? We are being told to allow that foul vessel to determine our lives and actions. Another translation of Proverbs 4:23 states that the "springs of life" flow from the heart. I like to experience clean water better than dirty water. So I still need to guard what goes into my heart, but I also will guard what comes out of it, too. I am just so glad that God is on my side!
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