Keeping your heart

“Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life.” - Proverbs 4v23

“Keep” is a wonderful English word. It is packed with diversity and loaded with variety. It can be used in a number of ways to illustrate the truth of Proverbs 4v23. We can think of the keep of a castle where family and treasures are secure. We can think of a shepherd keeping watch over his flock, and numerous other ideas of “keeping.”

I think a great picture here is of a gardener keeping his garden. We don’t garden much, but this year we planted a herb garden. It has been fun to watch the basil, oregano, parsley, chives, and other herbs flourish. These are the things that a herb garden is supposed to bear.

Keeping a garden is work. Weeds must be pulled up and various little invaders must be dealt with. If you don’t do this things the garden will be destroyed and bear no fruit.

Here God reminds us to keep our hearts with all diligence. The reason is clear – the heart is the center and source of all our lives. If we don’t keep our hearts our lives will quickly show it. We will stop bearing fruit and will instead be a breeding ground for weeds and pests. We must constantly deal with the “weeds and pests” that show up in our hearts if we don’t want them to bear their fruit.

How do we keep our hearts with all diligence? We must careful heed to what thoughts and ideas come into our minds. Lusts of the flesh will grow into sins of the flesh. Envy will grow into jealousy that will grow into anger and bitterness. Selfishness will grow into covetousness, which is idolatry.

May God remind us of the importance of diligently keeping our hearts.