Why does the Bible talk about Guarding your heart? There are so many issues that come to mind when I think about guarding your heart. It could be from money, it could be from lust, it could be from any kind of addiction. There are so many things that chip away at your heart.
(Proverbs 4:23) – Keep your heart with all diligence, For out of it spring the issues of life.
When I think about this issue, I don’t think it is talking about not opening your heart to people but to keep your heart guarded. I see many people put a wall around their heart so that no one gets in. Usually this happens because they didn’t guard their hearts in the past and someone walked on it.
There are many things that pull us from God. This is what this verse is about. When life happens, we either move closer to God or pull away whether it is good or bad events.
I have seen people who lost loved ones and you watch how they live, you can tell that their whole life is centered around God and that God is their strength. I have also known others that when tragedy happens, they pull completely from God and some even then blame him. Same situations but different outlooks.
How about money? This is a big one when it comes to guarding your heart. It isn’t that hard to tithe 10% when you are only making $3000 a month. $300 doesn’t sound like much but how about when you are making $20,000 a month? It becomes harder to some people because $2000 a month in tithing seems large even though it is still the same.
It is so easy to start seeing some success to then pull away from God. You start to believe your own lies, that you are self-made or the more successful you become the longer hours you put in. Then over time you are working 80 hours a week and destroying your family in the process.
How about lust? Or just in general pulling away from your marriage because of its mundane daily activity? If you are married, nothing should come between you and your spouse but so many times things do.
Maybe you are watching porn and thinking nothing is wrong with that? Well every time you look at other women that way you are chipping away at your marriage. Every lustful thought becomes planted in your heart. Your wife starts to not look the same to you and others start to look good to you.
It always starts small but eventually you get to the point where you feel like you can’t turn back. Your spouse begins to get on your nerves all the time. They start to sound like your parent because you have dropped your responsibility of the marriage.
Maybe you are starting to spend time with someone of the opposite sex from work or whatever. You start to lean on this person and he or she starts becoming who you lean on when your spouse does something you don’t like. They start telling you that you deserve better because they only hear one side.
Then one thing leads to another and you then claim it was a mistake but in actuality it was no mistake but your choice. In fact there were many choices you made throughout that friendship where you could have pulled away because you knew where it was headed.
But you say the grass is greener over there. But that is 100% false. The grass has to be watered no matter where you go so why not water it in your own marriage instead of trying to do it for a new one? Then it becomes a cycle.
What’s my point in all this? All this starts when you start putting God on the back burner. I believe this is why the Bible talks about guarding your heart. God knows that we humans if not guarded, our hearts will start to chip away and become hard. Once your heart hardens then you start to lose compassion for everything.
You then become bitter about life and everyone around you. You claim that you are doing what the Bible says and that is to guard your heart but in reality you are putting a wall up so that you don’t get close to anyone because you are afraid of getting hurt.
I see people who are bitter about life all the time. It is a sad thing when you see this. Life is supposed to be enjoyed. Yes our journey will not always be easy but if God is your strength and not another person then you can make it through anything.
God wants you to rely on him but you have to keep your heart guarded from so many small things in order to stay focused. When you feel your heart leaning away from God, it is time to change your life before you go down a path that you may not like.
Satan loves to keep your heart distracted. With so many things coming at us in this day and time, it is not hard for Satan to help keep us distracted. He knows that the only way for us to grow is to keep a connection to God whether it is spiritually, marital, family or whatever. So his goal is to keep us so distracted in life that we lose focus on God.
Ask God to help you stay focused on him no matter what happens in life. Good or bad, your focus is God. Ask him to help you keep your marriage in front of you so that you don’t lose focus in your marriage and also ask him to help you keep your family a priority. It is all about priorities. If we keep this in check, life becomes easier. No matter how hard it may be to keep your priorities in check, you have to do it. But once you make the decision to do it and keep first things first, God will move in and change your life!
Living an Inspired Marriage.
Chris Benton
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