“Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.” - Proverbs 4:23 

Rarely does a sentence convey more truth than this short Proverb. Whether we pay attention to it will determine the course of our life and the decisions that mold us. It is why Solomon begins by saying, “above all else.” He is saying, this is the most important thing you can do. Don’t ignore it or take it for granted. This is critically important because everything you do flows from your heart. Guard it, and good things will flow from our lives. Neglect it, and bad things will flow from our lives.

Jesus Himself put it this way: “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 thornbushes, or grapes from briers. The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For out of the overflow of his heart his mouth speaks.” (Luke 6: 43-45)

It is not by accident that Jesus talks about those who store good or evil in their hearts. What is deposited in our minds ends in our hearts and each of us has a deposit there, good or bad. And that is what overflows when we least expect it. Everything flows from the contents of our hearts.

I have a friend with a very tough exterior. I actually call him Crusty in jest. But if you are in trouble, he is the first to come to your side. The first to encourage you and help you figure out what to do. In fact, some years ago, when I was in a bad place, he came beside me and kind of adopted me. He may seem tough, but the love of Jesus flows out of his heart because that is what is stored there. I talk to him almost every day.

In Romans 12:2, Paul says, “Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.” That transformation comes as we spend time in God’s word, with fellow believers and intentionally seek to follow Jesus closely. Every time we take a step of obedience, we store up God’s good in our hearts. Every time we say no to sin, we store up God’s thinking in our hearts. 

Choose not to conform to the thinking and patterns of this world, but to those of Christ. As you do this, you store up His character in your heart and that will spill over from your life to the lives of others. In doing so, you will be guarding your heart. It is the source that everything else flows from.

PRAYER

Father, I ask You to help me guard my heart and fill it with Your character and goodness so that it literally overflows to those around me. Remind me not to be conformed to the patterns of this world, but rather to You. Amen.