I would like to speak to you about your heart.
My heart? When I last checked it was still beating. I can run, play…
No, not that bodily organ in your chest that pumps blood but the heart thats mentioned over 90 times in the book of Proverbs.
Oh, ok. If you want to but I dont think its that important there must be more important things to discuss in my Christian life. Why dont you talk to me about Gods blessings, his laws, obedience, prophecy and…
Hold on! Just like your bodily heart is vital, your inner heart is critical. In fact it is so important that God commands you to protect it. Its a priority. More than anything else, guard your heart (Proverbs 4:23). Watch it closely.
Oh so I see what you are saying. I mustnt let my feelings and emotions get out of control. I know that. I am working on my temper and I swear now and again – especially in the traffic – but I think Im doing ok!
You dont understand. When Solomon writes about our heart he is emphasising something far deeper than curse words and road rage. And thats where your heart comes into it. Your heart in the Bible is the source of your bad temper and anger mine too. In fact out of our hearts flow so much more our desires, our motives, our intentions, our choices, our dreams, our longings, our hopes, our fears, our greed, our creativity, our lusts, our jealousies in fact everything we are, originates in our hearts. Just like our physical heart is at the centre of our body so too is our spiritual heart the centre and core of our whole being. Jesus Christ gave central attention to the heart. He said, Whatever is in your heart determines what you say. A good person produces good things from the treasury of a good heart, and an evil person produces evil things from the treasury of an evil heart (Matthew 12:34-35. NLT).
Ok, so you are saying my heart is like the source of a river. A river is wide and long and deep but its source is a spring that starts high up in the hills?
Direction for life
Exactly. Our natural heart has a direct impact on every single part of our body as it pumps blood through arteries and many kilometres of blood vessels and so influences our ability to live and function. From within our inner heart comes direction for our life. Think of all the things you believe, your deepest convictions (Romans 10:9-10), the ones that really shape your life – they are all down there somewhere in the depths of your heart (Proverbs 20:5). In your heart you ponder questions like: Why am I alive? What is my purpose? Why do I get up in the morning? Why am I who I am? Why am I different from my dog?
Do you see what Im saying? Your heart is what makes you you. Your heart is who you are. Your heart is you, the real you, the deepest truest you. Oh, we can keep our heart hidden and put on masks because we dont want others to know what we are really thinking but that doesnt change who we are deep down in our essential inner selves.
Do you see why your heart is so important? God says to you, to me, to all of us that we are responsible to look after our hearts.
But why?
The rest of Proverbs 4:23 explains: It affects everything you do. Or as the Message Bible reads: Be careful what you think, because your thoughts run your life.
So thats where everything really starts? Just like the seed of a tree contains a tree and potentially a forest within it so my heart contains all of my life?
Yes. Its out of our hearts that our lives spring from.
Who we are in our heart is who sooner or later we shall be in our behaviour. Our behaviour begins invisibly usually a long time before we actually do it. Our actions are really the belated announcement of where we have been for a long time. Have you ever said I dont know what came over me.? But you did it. The truth is that youve been thinking that for a long time and suddenly the opportunity arose and you did it. Todays thoughts are tomorrows actions and reactions.
Todays jealousy is tomorrows temper tantrum.
Todays bigotry is tomorrows hate crime.
Todays anger is tomorrows abuse.
Todays lust is tomorrows adultery.
Todays greed is tomorrows embezzlement.
Todays guilt is tomorrows fear.1
Proverbs 4:23 teaches us that our behaviour begins in the centre of our being, arises from a hidden spring, our heart, and its the driving force behind all our actions and words; As he thinks in his heart, so is he (Proverbs 23:7 – Amplified Bible). Our heart expresses itself in our relating and responding to everything around us.
This reminds me of an iceberg.
Yes, our behaviour is just the tip of the iceberg. But it really comes from an invisible part of me. Its all connected. And that vast part of the iceberg under the water is the sum of all our years – even from conception.
There is one thing I havent mentioned. Jesus, through the Holy Spirit, lives in our hearts (Ephesians 3:17). God is working in our hearts to conform us into the image of Jesus Christ. But all sorts of damage has been done to our hearts over the years and of course daily we face thoughts that bombard our minds. It takes time. It is a process.
Get involved
So I just leave it to God and he will sort it all out?
Not at all. God is actively on your side but hes calling you to get involved.
So how do I do that? What is my role? How do I guard my heart?
Catch your behaviour at its conception. For example, just when you realise that you are acting in an ungodly way toward someone, push the pause button and choose to be who you really are in Jesus Christ and draw upon his grace.2 As a father and grandfather I have learnt that often the most effective way to get a crying baby to stop performing is to get his mind onto something else. It works almost immediately (Its like buttoning a shirt. In your heart is where you put the first button into the first hole. Our behaviour is all the other buttons. Get the first one wrong and they are all out of line!)
I like that! But it is difficult. So often I try and try and grit my teeth trying to be like Jesus but I cant
This is not about trying and sweating. Its about the very life of Jesus Christ being expressed through you. The Holy Spirit stands ready to help us manage and filter the thoughts that try to enter your heart. When a wrong thought approaches, dont just open the door and let it enter. You arent helpless over the thoughts that may bombard your mind. You take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ (2 Corinthians 10:5).
Dont leave the door unguarded. You have everything you need to live a godly life you have the equipment to enable you to capture any thoughts not fit to enter (2 Peter 1:3-4).
I would also like to encourage you to make Ephesians 3:16 your personal life-prayer. In it Paul prays that God may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being. Nurture yourself with the constant affirmation and realization of your Fathers love and care in every area of your life.
Watch your heart. Guard it. Protect it. Be careful what you think.
You mean Im responsible?
You are response-able.
1. Max Lucado. A love Worth giving. Page 88
2. Grace is not only about unmerited favour, its divine enablement of our daily lives (2 Corinthians 12:9)