ABOVE ALL ELSE……

What if you knew how to determine the course of your life???

Proverbs 4:23
“Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life”-NLT

“Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life.”-ESV

Luke 6:43-45
“For no good tree bears bad fruit, nor again does a bad tree bear good fruit, for each tree is known by its own fruit. For figs are not gathered from thornbushes, nor are grapes picked from a bramble bush. The good person out of the good treasure of his heart produces good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure produces evil, for out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.” ESV

Digging Deeper: The Hebrew word for heart (leb) refers to more than just our feelings; it is taken from a root word that is best translated "the inner man" - which embodies the mind, will and emotions.

Why should we guard our heart?
1. Out of the heart flow all the thoughts and words and choices of our life.

2. Our hearts are prone to misplaced affections. When the integrity of our inner being is breached, it threatens our emotional, mental and spiritual viability.

How can we guard our heart?

1. Loving God guards our heart. Guarding our heart does mean allowing no one access to that most central place of our affections but God. It means keeping the first commandment first—and loving Him with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength (Deut. 6:5).
2. The Peace of God guards our heart. (Philippians 4:6-7) Taking our worries and needs to God gives us His peace, which guards our heart and minds…our inner man.

Guarding our heart does not mean protecting ourself from being hurt. There’s no way we can insulate ourselves from any possibility of pain. Pain is a regular part of relationships in this broken world.

These commands encourage internalizing wisdom. Heart in Proverbs regularly refers to the center of one's inner life and orientation to God, from which a person does all thinking, feeling, and choosing. Taking words of wisdom into the heart is vital (they are life) and wisdom's presence in the heart is worth guarding because out of the heart flow all the thoughts and words and choices of a person's life.