"Guarding Our Heart" - a sermon on Proverbs 4:20-27

I was asked to speak about the theme of what it means to “guard” our heart from Proverbs 4:23.

Meaning a similar thing the NRSV translates, “keep your heart” – “Keep your heart with all vigilance”.

“Vigilance” or being ‘vigilant’ suggests being constantly on alert. So we would therefore be constantly on alert as to the welfare of our heart, i.e. guarding our heart.

The NLT translates, “Guard your heart above all else”. The importance of this alertness and vigilance cannot be doubted – it ranks in importance above all other things.

The Bible clearly puts a high priority upon this concept of ‘guarding our heart’. Verse 23 in the NRSV continues, “... for from it [the heart] flow the springs of life”. In other words, the ‘heart’ guides the outcome of one’s life; or as the NLT puts it, “...for it [the heart] determines the course of your life”. Where your heart is ... the rest follows. This is our day by day hour by hour activity directed by the state of our heart.

The biblical proverbs are wanting us to develop our concentration and focus in various areas. And in this case it is the “heart”.

The “heart” really represents our centre ... that which drives us as a person; and takes in the emotions, the will, our deepest desires, passions and motivations ... the whole inner being.

If we need to be so reminded about ‘guarding our heart’, then it is possible that our hearts are actually (at points in time) unguarded; and that this situation would logically bring us problems. This would mean that our heart is open to attack from various opponents (of our welfare, especially our spiritual welfare).

We could also look at this in a different way, from the other direction, if you like. If we notice that we have recurring problems and failures and temptations in certain areas, then from this we might ascertain that it is likely that our heart is, in fact, not fully guarded. The ‘unguarded’ heart would allow all sorts of disruptive, useless and harmful stuff to corrupt our lives (and compromise our decision-making in choosing the activities we will be involved in)!

So how do we do it? How do we ‘guard our heart’??

The verses that precede verse 23 talk about God’s word, and the importance of saturating oneself in the revealed teaching of God (about how we should live). The ancients only had old testament scriptures available to them; we are of course better off than that, because we have the new testament books as well, which teach the importance and implications of following Jesus. So at least one principle of ‘guarding your heart’ is:

(i) Staying attentive to God’s word (v.20-22).

And having been attentive, we are not to let such teaching “escape” us, i.e. we have to hang on to it tightly (with a firm grasp). We won’t let truth go from us, and we will let such teaching penetrate deeply; so much so, that it becomes part of who we are.

Having God’s Word as part of who we are certainly ‘guards our heart’ from danger! These are also words that can bring healing to those parts of our life that are broken. And such healing words are not just words of comfort, but also words of liberation and transformation. The words and touch of Jesus actually brought about tremendous change in the face of disastrous realities (just look at the miracle stories in the gospels). We just need to be open, thirsty and courageous for the good things God wants to do.

We can also read the Bible with such attention, that we are also listening for God to speak to us with new insight on a particular passage (especially as it applies to our own style of living).

Prayer will always be our greatest resource here, the activity that we combine with bible study to gain the most from our relationship with God.

The verses that follow verse 23 talk about our mouth, eyes and feet. So my next principle of ‘guarding our heart’ is:

(ii) Being disciplined about what we think about and what we say (v.24).

We need to stop ourselves from saying things that hurt, offend or are actually untrue. We need to stop ourselves engaging in unhelpful gossip, as well as using any put-downs or derogatory language. This behaviour not only hurts others, but also corrupts ourselves. We might say that sometimes things just slip out, but is this really any excuse?? According to the principles of ‘guarding your heart’, the answer is firmly ‘No’!

It is our ‘thought life’, our thinking, that lies behind how our tongue operates; in some cases this derives from egocentric desires i.e. selfish ambition. So you could say that the problem is often really OUR LACK OF THINKING ... well, OUR LACK OF GOOD THINKING ... our thoughtlessness toward others!

This lack of thinking about the needs of others, often happens as we are faced by people who are very different to us. We can unthinkingly put mental labels on people (sometimes borrowed from general culture), and then our mouths open with unfortunate outcomes.

We need to think in appropriate Heavenly Kingdom ways, so that, as a result, we can speak in helpful and God-honouring ways. For example, if I begin to think of someone as a dangerous looking person, I’m likely to speak about them in those terms, without even knowing anything about them at all. However, if I can just reserve my judgement, and see them as a beloved child of God, then I would likely speak very differently.

Our motivations lead our thoughts towards our words and actions. If we can align our motivations, attitudes and priorities to those of God, then our thinking will then lead to words of encouragement, and our hearts will become more ‘guarded’ from negative outside influences.

Then the next principle of ‘guarding our heart’ would be:

(iii) Looking forward to the future (v.25).

There is the obvious implication here in verse 25 that what you look at with your eyes affects your brain and can never be erased. So you would not look at things that tend to devalue yourself or others. It is possible to rise above ‘bad eye habits’, but sometimes it’s not easy and there needs to be serious help sought and applied. This is usually a more serious problem area for men, and that is one of the reasons we conduct the “Man to Man” Life-keys course, which helps to unlock what lies behind such a problem. ‘Guarding our heart’ often requires courageous effort against the odds.

Then there is also the concept of being able to keep your head up, free of guilt and shame, because of the liberating forgiveness we have been given. Unfortunately some people wallow in their self-pity, when God has given the resources to break free and live with joy and purpose.

Also implied here is the concept of what lies behind you in terms of behaviour and lifestyle – those things that you have corrected through your relationship with Jesus and understanding of God’s Word – [these things] staying behind you! What lies behind you ... stays behind you!! Your vision is now on what lies ahead in God’s future for you (and those who travel with you). I will not go back to those things that have failed me (and hurt others) in the past! They are done with!!

We can look at this in one further way. When Peter tried to divert Jesus from his God-given mission, Jesus, so taken back by this, said to Peter ... “Get behind me Satan”. This indicated that Jesus would not hear of, nor ever contemplate, this wrong suggestion of Peter. Jesus had put behind him any thoughts of avoiding the cross. There was only God’s future! When certain suggestions come to us from whatever source, we may have to say (with Jesus), “Get behind me Satan”!

And the fourth principle of ‘guarding our heart’ from this passage is:

(iv) Walking in a straight line (v.26-27).

There is an obvious implication here about the choices we make in where we go, and in what we spend our time. Going with the flow, sometimes just being blown on the breeze, without much critique of our activity, doing much more following the crowd than leading the flock, failing to notice that we don’t stand out at all, nor obviously stand for anything really, hiding from the truth (of the waste in our lives) ... all this keeps us off the straight path and onto many dead-end detours. Sometimes our internal direction-finding device, like the badly programmed GPS system, leads us down the garden path. We need to attend to this, and carefully read the guide book, before backing the car out.

This is generally about setting our mind on a course of discipleship ... following Jesus ... and we stick to it no matter what life throws at us, or whatever temptation comes before us. Following Jesus is the context, and the only context, in which we should walk through life. We simply avoid doing what we know to be wrong. In this way we would walk on the firm footings rather than the slippery dips. We stay in the main game, rather than getting caught up in the sideshows. Any rollercoaster rides (that innocently come along) are survived because we have our minds fixed on a faithful and resourceful God.

This involves careful planning and weighing up of one’s courses of action. Part of being a citizen of heaven and a member of the Kingdom of God will be that attitude of walking lightly on the earth, and holding material possessions very loosely. In that way we are not unduly distracted or held back from where God wants us to be and God wants us to do. It is the Word of God (as we said before) that we hold onto tightly and that we walk on firmly – as for much of the rest ... we tread light and hold loose.

We can also practice the presence of God in our lives, making decision-making so much easier. This is simply to regularly remind ourselves that God is constantly with us. I’m weeding the garden, and yes, God is with me. I’m standing up in front of people talking, and yes, God is with me. I’m out and about shopping, and yes, Jesus is with me. I’m driving the car, and yes, God’s Spirit is with me. I’m suffering pain and confusion, and yes, God is still with me. I’m worshipping God with everything I have, and yes most certainly, God is with me.

This actually sounded a fair bit individual to me, when the Christian life is meant to be collective and relational. So let me add the following:

(v) Another area of ‘guarding our heart’ would be through accountability, whether it be to your spouse, mentor, spiritual director, best friend or small group. This is where you track your spiritual growth through the feedback of others. You are ‘guarding your heart’ because you are prepared to hear what other people see in you, weigh it up with God, and take whatever action is required. We need to learn how to be accountable for the grace (and the gracious gifts) we have been given.

What is crucial here will always be regular worship attendance, participation in Church community, and the practice of serving others. The best functioning church community will never be the one that goes for appearance management, pretending to be what it is not. The best functioning church community will be the one based on honesty, humility, and the servant spirit. Such people will have ‘guarded hearts’.

As a footnote, it is the church based on James 5:16, that, in my opinion, will be the church that changes the world.