Uncommen: Heart ConditionsSample

Guard

Proverbs 4:23 "Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life."

I would encourage you to read the whole chapter of Proverbs 4.

In my Bible, this chapter is titled "A Father's Wise Instruction," and if you read the whole chapter, you'll know why it's called that. But we are focusing on guarding our hearts in this study.

Vigilance: the action or state of keeping careful watch for possible danger or difficulties.

When you read the first half of our verse, and it says, "will all vigilance," you get the feeling this is very serious. The rest of our verse tells why we should guard our heart this way, and it's because "from it flow the springs of life." If you feed your heart, mind, and soul with anger, bitterness, pride, and so forth, all of those things will come out of it. If you surround yourself with God's Word, prayer, godly friends, then out of your heart will come godly things.

Back in the 90s, I was in a group of people ordering a chip to put in their cable box to allow them to steal cable. Everyone in the group ordered the chip except my wife and me. One of the people turned to me and said, "Oh what, you think this is stealing? Everyone does it." I said, "it doesn't matter what I think. Do you think it's stealing?" He said, "I don't care if it is, I'm doing it."

Over the next eight weeks, we watched them struggle with the chip. I don't think they ever got the channels they wanted and had to take the chip out to watch TV. Then, one day that same person came up to me and said, "I guess I shouldn't have gotten that chip." I said, "I get the feeling you regret it because it didn't work and not because it's wrong to steal."

I tell you that story because you can see how easy it is to be included in something many think is not a big deal. The vigilant part is I don't base what I do on what others think is right or wrong. Instead, I try to base my life on what God says is right and wrong. While an opinion of right and wrong may change over time, God will not.

Out of those decisions comes the springs of life.

Pro Tip: Notice I did not get all judgy but rather simply did not participate. Let God be God.

Uncommen Questions:

1. Have you had to guard your heart and take a stand when your group was going the other way?

2. Do you need to retake a stand?

Uncommen Challenge:

I challenge us all to guard our hearts with all vigilance because sin will always be waiting for us. It's rarely such a life or death situation but rather those little moments that define our walk with Jesus.