GUARD THE HEART
- Website Admin
- Jan 30, 2020
- 13 min read
Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life. Put away from you crooked speech, and put devious talk far from you. Let your eyes look directly forward, and your gaze be straight before you. Ponder the path of your feet; then all your ways will be sure.” (Proverbs 4:23–26, ESV)
The ancient world was a world of watchtowers and watchmen. Whether in an effort to protect the much-needed crops from animals and thieves or in an effort to protect the city from those who would wish it harm, the watchman’s role was vitally important. It was a matter of survival!
As described by one author, “… Ezekiel reports the watchman’s responsibility to warn of impending danger. If the watchman (or prophet) failed in his task the blood of the people would be on his head (Ez 33:2–9; cf. Ez 3:17; Jer 6:17; Hos 9:8). In contrast to the faithful prophets, Isaiah compares the leaders of Israel to blind watchmen who lacked the ability to even see Israel’s danger, much less lead the people to repentance (Is 56:10; Mi 7:4)”.[i]
Isaiah says it this way, Isaiah 56:10 (ESV) — 10 His watchmen are blind; they are all without knowledge; they are all silent dogs; they cannot bark, dreaming, lying down, loving to slumber.
It’s a sad and startling picture. Blind watchmen? Though in the right place, at the right time, and with a clear mandate, a blind watchman would be as effective in his efforts as a wingless bird. It’s preposterous! One can only imagine the peril that would lie in waiting for a city with blind watchmen!
In like manner, it takes little imagination to conjure up the many disasters that await those who carelessly waltz through life, giving little effort to the divine call to guard one’s heart! The heart, like the city of agrarian societies, must be guarded! Yet, the many-roomed heart of man is an enigma, likely to never be understood fully by anyone lacking the characteristic of deity. Nevertheless, whether it’s understood or not, one thing remains, every heart of man is filled, saturated with, and occupied by those things that he or she deems most important.
Consequently, every pilgrim of this life takes the journey, apportioning to each room those things, endeavors, desires, and people whom he or she feels is worthy of occupying such a sacred place. But the question always lingers…should I? Should I entertain this thought, this desire, this relationship, this pursuit, this dream, this motivation?
Sadly, far too few pilgrims take enough time to adequately answer such questions, though hauntingly they remain. As a result, much of the stuff we carry around in our hearts proves to be no more valuable than a putrid mound of yesterday’s trash. Regrettably, by the time the true face of these heart-dwellers is revealed, it’s too late to easily evict them. Yet, identifying and evicting them we must! John Owen’s said it well when he said, “Be acquainted, then, with thine own heart: though it be deep, search it; though it be dark, inquire into it; though it give all its distempers other names than what are their due, believe it not.”[ii]
Here’s the kicker, the eviction process is never easy when the one protesting the unwanted occupancy is also the one who opened the door and provided the key. True, the undesirables who burrow their way deep into the rooms of the heart must be dealt with and viewed honestly but it’s helpful for the remainder of life’s journey to remember that it is the watchman who is ultimately responsible for the occupancy of the unbridled vagrants.
Such is the reality for many of us. Due to the lack of maintaining a well-guarded heart, we complain and bemoan the very stuff that we’re responsible for allowing in! As a result, with the many unwanted guests in full array and standing in stubborn position, we’re often left to wonder, “how can I fix this?”.
How can I get rid of the regret of past mistakes that seems to churn in my heart daily? How can I move on from the broken and shattered dream that still fills every room of my heart? How can I finally move on from the anger and bitterness that I have lived with for so long? How can I escape the constant onslaught of negativity that I have grown so fluent at speaking to myself? How can I stop thinking about the person I want but can’t have, the job I desire but have no access to, the money I desire but have no way to obtain? How can I find victory over the weeds of pride that wrap around nearly every expression that comes from my mouth? How can I put a stop to my constant pursuit to please man? How can I wash away the debased memories of my wandering eyes and illicit appetites? How can I, how can I, how can I! These are but a sampling of the many questions our battered hearts beg us to answer.
Here is the cold, hard, truth; things and people, ideas and dreams, pursuits, regrets, and sin have a nasty way of getting stuck in the fabric of our hearts! I suppose the dilemma was best described by John Calvin who once said, “The Human heart is an idol factory”. We need not look around for someone or something to blame. In fact, more often than not, the heart of the problem is a problem in the heart. Any attempt to deal with such matters is typically both painful and daunting. This is one of the fundamental reasons why it’s so vitally important to guard the heart. For when we guard the heart, ours is an effort of prevention rather than eviction and anyone with a measure of common sense can acknowledge the fact that locking the front door is far easier a task than wrestling the unwanted occupant out of it! Guard the heart!
Make no mistake, the condition of one’s heart will always be reflected through the expression of one’s actions as well as the vocalization of one’s words. Scripture says as much, “The good person out of the good treasure of his heart produces good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure produces evil, for out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.” (Luke 6:45, ESV) There’s simply no way around this.
However, we need to understand that the heart, when spoken of in Scripture, rarely refers to the blood-pumping muscular organ that abides in the cavity of one’s chest. On the contrary, it has everything to do with what a person, thinks, feels, says, and does. As such, one author describes it this way, “The heart in Scripture is variously used, sometimes for the mind and understanding, sometimes for the will, sometimes for the affections, sometimes for the conscience, sometimes for the whole soul. Generally, it denotes the whole soul of man and all the faculties of it, not absolutely, but as they are all one principle of moral operations, as they all concur in our doing of good and evil.[iii] For this reason, it is vitally important that the “heart” be well-guarded!
The wisdom-dispensing father of Proverbs 4 understood this perhaps better than most. In a mere fourteen words, the wise father showers upon every son or daughter who’s willing to listen, enough wisdom to fill all the hearts of humanity. Here it is, “Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life”. In another translation, we read, “23 Watch over your heart with all diligence, For from it flow the springs of life (Proverbs 4:23 NASB95)”. In still another rendering we read, “23 Keep vigilant watch over your heart; that’s where life starts. (Proverbs 4:23 The Message)”.
The imagery here is undeniable. The heart is depicted as a great reservoir with conduits from which the springs of our inner-life flow. As has been pointed out by many others, “What’s in the well comes up in the bucket!” Let's recognize, if the stream is polluted, the only reasonable conclusion is that the fountain also must be contaminated. It’s for this reason that the wise father of proverbs 4 follows his instruction on the heart with a series of three commands. Of interest is the fact that the commands can serve both as a litmus test to determine the condition of our hearts as well as a series of practical steps for the protection of our hearts.
Notice what he says,
“23 Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life. 24 Put away from you crooked speech, and put devious talk far from you. 25 Let your eyes look directly forward, and your gaze be straight before you. 26 Ponder the path of your feet; then all your ways will be sure. 27 Do not swerve to the right or to the left; turn your foot away from evil. “
Here are the TEST questions we’re faced with.
1. DO THE WORDS OF MY MOUTH REFLECT A WELL-GUARDED HEART?
2. DO THE OBJECTS OF MY GAZE REFLECT A WELL-GUARDED HEART?
3. DOES THE DIRECTION OF MY LIFE REFLECT A WELL-GUARDED HEART?
Here's the practical steps we need to take
1. BRIDLE YOUR MOUTH
2. RESTRAIN YOUR EYES
3. WATCH YOUR STEPS
1. THE TEST QUESTION - DO THE WORDS OF YOUR MOUTH REFLECT A WELL-GUARDED HEART?
24 Put away from you crooked speech, and put devious talk far from you.
It’s shocking to hear the things that sometimes come out of the mouths of our family, friends and neighbors. More shocking would we find it if we could only hear the sewage that sometimes spews from our own mouths. Benjamin Franklin is credited with once saying, “A slip of the foot you may soon recover, but a slip of the tongue you may never get over.” This must have been what Aesop had in mind when he told the story of the Donkey in the Lion’s skin:
An Ass found a Lion’s skin left in the forest by a hunter. He dressed himself in it, and amused himself by hiding in a thicket and rushing out suddenly at the animals who passed that way. All took to their heels the moment they saw him.
The Ass was so pleased to see the animals running away from him, just as if he were King Lion himself, that he could not keep from expressing his delight by a loud, harsh bray. A Fox, who ran with the rest, stopped short as soon as he heard the voice. Approaching the Ass, he said with a laugh:
“If you had kept your mouth shut you might have frightened me, too. But you gave yourself away with that silly bray.”
Moral - A fool may deceive by his dress and appearance, but his words will soon show what he really is.[iv]
The fact of the matter is that an unbridled tongue will always be a sure sign of an unguarded heart. Remember, “The good person out of the good treasure of his heart produces good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure produces evil, for out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.” (Luke 6:45, ESV) Whatever is taking place in the heart will be broadcast from the mouth.
Do you have loose lips? Are you prone to gossip? Are you self-congratulatory, a constant herald of your own perceived greatness? Is your word seldom taken at face value due to your reputation to never keep it? Do you have a record of causing great harm with your words? Do you find yourself justifying your brashness and lack of self-control by calling attention to your heritage, your upbringing, or your personality?
Words matter, both what you say, when you say it and the manner in which you say it. However, addressing a problem with the mouth is a futile exercise of wind-chasing without giving proper attention to the source from which it’s streams flow; the heart!
THE TAKEAWAY – BRIDLE YOUR MOUTH!
2. THE TEST QUESTION - DO THE OBJECTS OF YOUR GAZE REFLECT A WELL-GUARDED HEART?
25 Let your eyes look directly forward, and your gaze be straight before you.
Much could be said about the eyes of God’s people. Scripture is certainly not silent on the subject. Whether we consider the longing of the psalmist who desired for his eyes to be open (ps 119:18), or the Apostle Paul who yearned for enlightened eyes (Eph 1:18), or the danger of developing eyes of pride (Ps 18:27, 131:1, Pro 6:17), God’s word is not silent! However, the giver of wisdom in proverbs 4 seems concerned about one thing in particular; namely, that our eyes be disciplined! How easy it is to get distracted in life; whether through things that captivate us or things that enslave us. A sure way to determine the heart’s state of health is to evaluate the eyes measure of discipline. Do you have wandering eyes? Do you find yourself looking to the left and to the right? Is it possible that your eyes tell a story of a person who is sick with the sin of covetousness? Is it possible that your wandering eyes tell the story of an adulterous heart? Do you constantly compare yourself with others? Are you addicted to social media approval, constantly baiting your proverbial hook to see how many pride-inducing bites you can get? How disciplined are your eyes? Do you have the eyes of Lot’s wife, leading you to consistently look back at those things your heart has yet to surrender? Do you have the eyes of Peter, leading you to charge with great enthusiasm towards the things of God until your circumstances and surrounding awaken the fears that you’ve yet to overcome?
THE TAKEAWAY –RESTRAIN YOUR EYES
3. THE TEST QUESTION - DOES THE DIRECTION OF MY LIFE REFLECT A WELL-GUARDED HEART?
26 Ponder the path of your feet; then all your ways will be sure. 27 Do not swerve to the right or to the left; turn your foot away from evil. “
The wise father gives an additional command to those who wish to guard their hearts and it has everything to do with the steps we take in the journey of life. If you look around and discover that your life is empty of healthy relationships and full of drama, it might be a clue that you have chosen poorly. There are many roads we can take in this life but they do not all lead to the same place. Furthermore, it’s possible to buy into the mindless mantra that “I’m just going to go with the flow”. Unfortunately, the problem with such a notion is that going with the flow never works out well unless you are certain you are in the right stream! Let’s not fool ourselves; our daily decisions, friendships, career and school choices, and our plans matter! What about you? Are you in the midst of some big decisions but find yourself focusing more on personal preference than a life lived in personal holiness? What do your most important relationships that consume a large majority of your time currently say about the shape of your heart? What are your current financial decisions proclaiming about the condition of your heart? What do your vacation plans and retirement plans say about you? Ponder the path of your feet is what the wise father of proverbs calls for which is just another way of saying “what are you doing and where are you going?”
THE TAKEAWAY – WATCH YOUR STEP!
Take notice. Take inventory. Think soberly. Ponder. Life’s too short and the mission too important to not give adequate attention to our hearts. God is calling for each of us to be courageous and vigilant watchmen! No, we will never do this in perfection and we will fail miserably apart from the strengthening grace of God. Nevertheless, there’s simply no room here for laziness! Rather than looking all around for the culprit of your current difficulties, stop, breathe, get alone and quiet with the Lord and ask Him to search your heart. Perhaps a time of solitude in Psalm 139 can help. Personalize these words and allow the Lord to take you to his sacred surgery table where His careful hands can do the work in your heart that desperately needs to be done.
Psalm 139:1–17 (ESV)
1 O Lord, you have searched me and known me!
2 You know when I sit down and when I rise up; you discern my thoughts from afar.
3 You search out my path and my lying down and are acquainted with all my ways.
4 Even before a word is on my tongue, behold, O Lord, you know it altogether.
5 You hem me in, behind and before, and lay your hand upon me.
6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high; I cannot attain it.
7 Where shall I go from your Spirit? Or where shall I flee from your presence?
8 If I ascend to heaven, you are there! If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there!
9 If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea,
10 even there your hand shall lead me, and your right hand shall hold me.
11 If I say, “Surely the darkness shall cover me, and the light about me be night,”
12 even the darkness is not dark to you; the night is bright as the day, for darkness is as light with you.
13 For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother’s womb.
14 I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well.
15 My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth.
16 Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them.
17 How precious to me are your thoughts, O God! How vast is the sum of them!
Understand, when this work of the heart begins, it is never easy. As God brings to light those things that have latched to the deepest part of our being, repentance is what must follow. Yet, as repentance ensues, a slow, painful, and trickling exodus will begin as the stubborn, unwanted, heart-dwellers take up arms. The common experience for most is a real battle as the the flesh wages war against the spirit. It's okay. It's expected. It must take place.
Solomon, with all of his imperfection, is said to have been the wisest man ever and his charge to you and to me is simply this, “Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it”. (Proverbs 4:23)
Inestimable is the value of guarding the innermost part of who we are, protecting the entrance to these most sacred rooms where our deepest emotions and our most honest displays of self reside. As Swindoll writes: “How important is the heart? It is there that character is formed. It alone holds the secrets of true success. Its treasures are priceless—but they can be stolen.”[v]
Let's stand firm, alert, and vigilant, as watchmen who refuse to be willfully blind!
[i] Walter A. Elwell and Barry J. Beitzel, “Trades and Occupations,” Baker Encyclopedia of the Bible (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House, 1988), 2093.
[ii] John Owen, The Works of John Owen, ed. William Goold, (Edinburgh: Banner of Truth, 1965), Vol. VI: p. 132.
[iii] J. I. Marais, “Heart,” ed. James Orr et al., The International Standard Bible Encyclopaedia (Chicago: The Howard-Severance Company, 1915), 1351.
[v] Charles Swindoll, The Quest for Character, Multnomah Press, Portland, 1987, p. 28.
Comments