We’re continuing in our 31 Day Challenge today (it’s day 4 and not too late to join).  I couldn’t allow this day to go by without commenting on Proverbs 4:23 which says, “Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life.”

Now when the scripture speaks of the heart, it’s speaking of your thought life, the core of your soul where your thoughts and imaginations operate. The heart is sort of this “master-control” of the life.

You will…

love

parent

lead

conduct relationships

manage money

react to people

speak

…out of your heart.

And Proverbs is reminding us to guard it. Guard what comes in and what comes out. Because all of life originates from this core. The problem is most of us grew up in religious circles that never trained us to do that. We were just taught behavioral modification.

Jesus talked about this in Luke 6 when he said…

No good tree bears bad fruit, nor does a bad tree bear good fruit. Each tree is recognized by its own fruit. People do not pick figs from thorn bushes or grapes from briars.. (Luke 6:43)

What Jesus is getting at here is what some have called “The Law of the Tree,” which is just this: What’s going on inside the tree determines what gets produced outside the tree.

This is where there was a major conflict between Jesus and a lot of religious leaders in His day who focused mostly on behavioral modification—doing right things. Jesus’ brilliant insight is: The whole focus should be on the inside of the tree. His goal therefore was to help transform the inside of the tree (the heart).

I believe it was Socrates who said, “The unexamined life is not worth living.” So maybe the most important thing we could do at the beginning of this new decade is to examine the “wellspring” of life.

Is the seductive, deceptive lure of some sin such as anger, bitterness, unforgiveness, and sexual immorality, creeping into your heart?

Is there anyone you’ve been withholding forgiveness from?

Do you secretly celebrate the failures of people around you?

Have any secrets that you’re working hard to keep from some of your closest friends?

I’m praying God will teach you and me both to guard our hearts because the desire of Jesus is to transform our hearts, not just edit our behavior.

How are you guarding your heart these days?

(CLICK HERE to read what others are saying about Day 4 of the 31 Day Challenge)