The book of Proverbs is one of the books in the bible that emphasises the necessity for wisdom. While there are many verses that we can glean wisdom from, Proverbs 4:23 is one of the bible verses that most would be familiar with,

Proverbs 4:23 (NIV)
Above all else, guard your heart,
for everything you do flows from it.

In the same way, the physical heart provides circulation for the entire body. Our spiritual heart is just as important and must be looked after. If our heart isn’t healthy, it affects everything else. From our hearts, flows the issues of life.

Guarding our hearts seems simple right? And yet, we don’t always guard our hearts well (me included). But what does it mean to guard our hearts and why should we? It’s not that deep…or maybe it is.

Guard your heart

The word guard means to watch carefully, to be alert, or to protect something that is considered vulnerable to harm.  The word guard is a verb, which is a doing word – it requires an action. In other words, guarding our hearts isn’t a passive process, but an active one. It isn’t something that we do once, but continually.

The reason we are to guard our hearts with all vigilance is because it is very easy for sin to creep into our hearts unawares. A lot of the time we focus on the outward actions of a person while ignoring the root of the problem, which starts in the heart.

In Mark 7, the Pharisees and Jews complained to Jesus that his disciples didn’t wash their hands before eating their food, because it was their custom to wash their hands ceremoniously, including the vessels that they would use, which also had to be clean.

However, Jesus explained to them that it’s not what a person does outwardly that defiles them, it’s what comes out of a person that defiles them.

Mark 7:20-21
He went on: “What comes out of a person is what defiles them. ²¹ For it is from within, out of a person’s heart, that evil thoughts come—sexual immorality, theft, murder, ²² adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly. ²³ All these evils come from inside and defile a person.

While the Pharisees focused on what people could see externally, Jesus was more focused on what was on the inside. For example, while one would be outraged that a person would murder another person, Jesus goes the extra mile and says that if anyone has anger in their hearts, they ‘will be liable to the same judgement’ (Matthew 5:21-22) because murder starts in the heart.

Some might think that’s extreme, because isn’t anger a human emotion? And it is, but, it’s what you do with your anger that God is concerned about. There will be situations that arise that will elicit strong emotions, but how we respond matters. 

The pain of Cain

In Genesis 4, Adam and Eve had two sons named Cain and Abel. Both presented their offerings on the altar. Abel gave God the firstborn of his flock while Cain gave God crops from the ground (Genesis 4:3-4a). It tells us that God did not regard or accept Cain’s offering. Cain was upset and God recognized this (Genesis 4:6) but He also warned him,

Genesis 4:7
If you do what is right, will you not be accepted. But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must rule over it.”

God didn’t reject Cain; He rejected Cain’s offering. And yet, Cain took it personally (as most of us would if we were in the same situation). God tries to redirect Cain through loving correction by warning Him of the danger that would surely follow. Unfortunately, Cain didn’t yield to God’s leading, and we all know what happened next.

If you think about it, no one just decides to kill their younger brother one afternoon. It started in the heart. Even though we were never there, it wouldn’t hurt to assume that Cain probably harboured anger, jealousy, resentment, and pride in his heart. Sin became his master instead of the other way around. As a result of his actions, his fellowship with God was affected.

If our hearts are affected, it will not only have a ripple effect in our relationships with other people but also with God. When our hearts are pure, we can see God rightly. When we guard our hearts, we ensure that our intimacy with God isn’t hindered. God desires our hearts to be soft (not hardened), pure (not impure) and yielded (not stubborn) towards Him.

When the Bible says, ‘Above all else, guard your hearts’, it’s not a suggestion.  Above all else means it’s a priority. While guarding our hearts is our responsibility, God doesn’t leave us to do it alone. God has given us wisdom through His word, and we also have the Holy Spirit to help us, so that we can guard our hearts diligently.

The question still remains, how do we guard our hearts?

1. Prayer

Sometimes, we’re not even aware that we’ve allowed certain things to affect our hearts, for example, offence and without realizing this, it can influence the decisions that we make. It’s for this reason that we should do internal audits during prayer.

Psalm 139:23-24
Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my thoughts. See if there is any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.

Psalm 139:23-24 reveals two things. First, it shows us that God knows our hearts and second, we don’t always know what’s in our hearts. It can be easy to focus on the fruit but not actually deal with the root. Asking God in prayer to search your heart requires humility. We recognize that God is omniscient and we don’t know everything.

Since the fall, our default mode is pride. The problem with pride is, it can cause us to either turn a blind eye to our sin or shift the blame onto somebody else. It’s very easy to become defensive and have reasons for why we are the way we are. When that happens, we don’t take accountability for our own actions or address the problem altogether. 

Please know that when God does reveal sin in our lives, it’s not done to hurt us. If anything, it’s a reminder of how much we need Jesus Christ to cleanse our hearts. It’s in repentance that God can bring us into realignment with Him.

2. The word of God

In the natural sense, guards must protect what’s on the inside. The only way they can do this is by knowing what is allowed to come in and what is meant to stay out. Just like we have security measures to protect what is vulnerable or valuable to us, it’s in the same way that we are to guard our hearts.

The Holy Spirit also acts like an alarm system in our hearts, bringing conviction especially when our thoughts, words, and actions do not please God. The only way He can do this is when we have the word of God in us.

Psalm 119:9-11
How can a young man keep his way pure?   By guarding it according to your word. ¹⁰ With my whole heart I seek you; let me not wander from your commandments! ¹¹ I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you.

It’s in reading the word of God that we can discern between good and almost good. If we take it a step further, meditating on the word of God is one of the ways we renew our minds but it’s also one of the ways that we can guard our hearts.

King David writes, ‘ I have stored up Your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you’. Even though the men and women in the Old Testament, didn’t have the Holy Spirit, they still had the scriptures. By meditating on the word of God, it made them more aware of God’s presence than the temptations that surrounded them.

When God’s word is treasured in our hearts, without realizing it, it begins to change us. We’re attentive to what we listen to, the conversations that we engage in, and the content we consume physically or on social media.

The opposite is also true, when we meditate on the wrong things, our emotions, thoughts, words and decisions are also influenced.

Luke 6:45
Out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks

What we say and do is a reflection of what is in our hearts. The heart is a reservoir and from it, it flows into other areas of our lives. My prayer for you and me is that we would be intentional about guarding our hearts and remember that God is willing to help us if we ask Him.

God bless,
Susan.