If I ask you what you‘re responsible for, you will probably give me a whole list of things. What is on your mind? What are you worried about, what do you care about? I think the list could look something like this:
family - taking care of children (or parents), relationship with your spouse;
work - projects, salary, relationships with coworkers and managers, finances;
health - personal family members’;
school (for students) - exams, grades, midterms;
household - cleaning, laundry, cooking, renovations, gardening;
ministry - practices, preparation, relationship within the team;
plans - vacation, trips, new projects, events.
These are only some points that I can name off the top of my head. Everyone has their own responsibilities and priorities. I just want to ask you: is your heart on this list? Are you taking care of your soul, your spiritual state?
More than two thousand years ago, a wise king named Solomon was thinking about the same question and probably thought that we don’t pay too much attention to it. So he wrote:
"Above all else, guard your heart, for from it flow the springs of life". Proverbs 4:23
You have probably heard this before and know that it‘s important. However, there are so many reasons that make us forget this simple truth and not guard our heart. What could be the problem?
Wrong Priorities
In the list of our priorities we often put everything else above our spiritual well-being. “I can’t go to church today because I have work”. “I can’t pray in the mornings because my kids wake up early and need my attention”. “I don’t have time to read the Bible because I have a lot of homework”. You can come up with a million excuses and justify yourself but what good is it for your soul?
This is actually what Jesus once said:
"What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul?" Mark 8:36
All the money in this world can not buy you a ticket to heaven. The absence of prayer life will never help you become a better mother (daughter, sister - use any word here), it will only destroy your heart and your relationship. There are no books that could give you the wisdom that you can find in the Bible, and no degree will give you any guarantees to life a happy and successful life. Only in the Lord can you find all this.
Lack of Trust
You can tell me that priorities are good but who’s going to provide for my family? It’s one thing when you choose a hobby that you like, but it’s a whole other story when your life depends on it.
Can I judge someone’s decisions and priorities? Of course, not - everyone makes their own choices. This is what the Scripture says about this:
“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes?” Matthew 6:25
Theoretically, it’s very simple: Jesus tells us to not worry or be anxious about our physical needs. In other places of Scripture He adds that God knows everything that we need and provides it for us. However, this verse is really hard to put into practice. How can you take care of your soul, when you body is in need?
I have never had such an experience, but I can give you a more relevant example.
Imagine that I’m a student and I have a very important exam soon. My human mind tells me that I should wake up earlier to study all day and prepare as well as I can. I am not saying that it’s a bad thing, but it doesn’t help me guard my heart in any way.
On the other hand, I could spend some time in prayer and meditating over the Scriptures before I start studying. I can tell you from my four-year college experience: if you do that, your heart will be filled with peace, your mind will be sound, and you have better chances of succeeding the exam.
I agree, that in this case it would be unreasonable to go to church and spend a whole day in a bible school instead of studying, for example. There are many other ways to take care of your heart and I’m sure they can fit into the busiest schedule.
Compromises with Sin
Of course, we’re not sinners. Yes, the Bible says that everyone sinned, but we’re Christian! We’re holy! We don’t do sin. Yeah, right. We don’t live in sin anymore and we are justified by Jesus’s blood and adopted by His grace. But sin is still ruling over this earth and no one can avoid temptations.
Our problem is that we don’t even notice them sometimes and let ourselves be deceived by the devil. We’re trying to make excuses saying that these are “small” sins. We’re not lying, we’re avoiding the truth. We’re not gossiping, we’re only judging people in our hearts. We might be cheating, but it doesn’t count if no one saw that. Even the absence of action can be considered a sin because the Bible says so.
"You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘You shall not murder, anyone who murders will me subject to judgement.’ But I tell you that anyone who is angry with a brother or sister will". Matthew 5:21-22
”Little” sins that might seem insignificant at first sight poison our soul the same way a drop of ink would make a glass of water not drinkable. Does it look like guarding your heart?
Dirty Sources
What do you feed your heart with? Once I came to a church prayer, closed my eyes, and in my head I saw pictured from the show that I’ve been watching. Some other time it was the book that I‘ve been reading. When I tried to pray and seek a revelation, I heard a gentle voice in my heart: “give room to Me”.
In the modern world we are literally afraid of silence, we avoid being alone, and we try to “feed” our hearts with anything that we find. From our physical bodies we know that unhealthy food will never make us healthier. Same thing with our hearts: we need to make sure to provide our hearts with balanced and healthy nutrition.
I’m not trying to say that it’s a sin to watch shows or read books, the same way as eating McDonalds or drinking soda isn’t a sin. I just want to join Paul in his words that “I have the right to do anything but not everything is beneficial” (1 Cor. 6:12) and encourage you to take care of your heart’s health. Maybe, you‘re just like me, and you can’t hear God’s voice because you don’t let Him speak?
Why Do I Need to Take Care of My Heart?
Solomon is clear on that: “for from it flow the springs of life”. I tried to find something like this in Jesus’s words but He always refers to this thought as it’s something obvious.
Our body will die at some point, but our spirit is eternal. We can choose what will happen to it when our body perishes. This decision is made in our hearts. Money, houses, even relationships will end at some point - they don’t affect our salvation. Our salvation is determined by what is in our hearts. Do the springs of life flow from your heart, or does it beat to satisfy your flesh?
"...I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life..." Deut 30:19
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